- विज्ञापन -
New Delhi: Family members of victims of the Lakhimpur Kheri incident on Monday, informed the Supreme Court that Ashish Mishra, accused in the case, had been attending various political functions in Uttar Pradesh and violating the interim bail conditions.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the family members of the victims, informed the court that Mishra had been attending political functions recently, as there are posters and a video of him distributing tricycles in Uttar Pradesh.
He also apprised the top court that various conditions were imposed on Mishra while granting interim bail, including that he can visit Uttar Pradesh only for the purpose of attending court proceedings and not for anything else. He said that he can file an affidavit.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and PS Narasimha remarked that if Mishra is attending political functions physically, then it will definitely be a violation of his bail conditions.
However, Senior Advocate Siddhartha Dave, appearing for Ashish Mishra, denied the allegations and said that he is not a fool to violate liberty in such a way.
The court orally asked advocate, Prashant Bhushan, to file a report on this regard but did not put it in the order copy.
Meanwhile, the top court took note of the report sent by the trial court judge in Uttar Pradesh. The court also remarked that the public prosecutor and the police need to take effective steps to secure the presence of witnesses in the case.
The court’s direction came when it noted that certain witnesses were not present, causing delay in the trial.
Interim Bail to Ashish Mishra
On January 25, 2023, the top court granted interim bail for eight weeks to Ashish Mishra and imposed various conditions. Later, it was extended from time to time.
The top court had directed Ashish Mishra to inform the concerned court about his location. The Supreme Court had also clarified that any attempt by Ashish Mishra or his family to influence witnesses and try to delay the trial may lead to cancellation of his bail.
