In the case pertaining to the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence that claimed eight lives, the Supreme Court granted bail to Ashish Mishra, the son of former Union minister Ajay Mishra, on Monday. However, the court also placed restrictions on Mishra’s movement, limiting it to Delhi or Lucknow.
In connection with the “unfortunate ghastly incident” of violence, Ashish Mishra was granted interim bail by the top court on January 25 of last year.
Farmers involved in the case were also granted bail by a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan, who also instructed the trial court to expedite the hearing.
“Taking into consideration all the attending circumstances, the interim order is made absolute… We are informed that out of 117 witnesses, seven have been examined so far. In our view, the trial proceedings need to be expedited.
“We direct the trial court to fix the schedule, keeping in view the other time-bound or urgent matters that are pending but prioritising the pending subject,” the bench said.
The violence in the district had erupted when farmers staged a protest against Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit to the area.
A sport utility vehicle ran over four farmers. Afterwards, irate farmers are reported to have lynched a driver and two BJP employees. The violence that incited outrage also claimed the life of a journalist.
