Lakhimpur Kheri violence: How long can we keep Ashish Mishra in custody? Supreme Court
New Delhi, Dec 12: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Uttar Pradesh government as to how long Ashish Mishra, son of Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra, can be kept in custody, and directed the sessions court to specify the tentative time schedule for concluding the trial in the case of mowing down of protesting farmers in October 2021 in Lakhimpur Kheri.
The top court also asked the Uttar Pradesh government, which opposed the bail plea of Ashish Mishra terming the offence as "very grave", to file an affidavit with regard to the status of the second case lodged over the killing of three occupants of the SUV, which allegedly mowed down the farmers.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Krishna Murari said it needs to balance the interest of all the parties including the accused, the victims and society at large.
"Question is how long can we keep him (Ashish Mishra) in custody. We have to see that the accused, who is inside the jail for over one year, also has rights. Now the charge sheet has been filed and charges have been framed. The victims and witnesses also have their rights. Even society also has interest in the case. Now, we have to balance all the rights in the case," it said.
The bench also asked the Additional District and Sessions judge hearing the second case, related to the killing of the occupants of the car, to consider the desirability of framing charges.
It asked the Registrar (judicial) of the apex court to write to the Additional Sessions Judge, Lakhimpur Kheri, to indicate the time schedule for concluding the trial in the case, keeping in mind other pending cases and already prioritised cases with him.
"He has been inside the jail on our orders. We cannot keep him indefinitely but the question is at what stage should we consider his bail," the bench told Additional Advocate General Garima Prashad, appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government.
Prashad said the charges against him are "very grave" and the charge sheet was filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the apex court after an elaborate probe.
The bench pointed out since there are 212 witnesses the trial is going to take time.
Prashad said Mishra's discharge application has been dismissed, the charges have been framed by the sessions court and the trial is to commence from December 16.
"We have given protection to all the key witnesses in the case," she said.
The bench said it was a good step and the state should also provide security to any other vulnerable witnesses in the case, if they come forward during the trial.
At the outset, senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Ranjit Kumar, appearing for Ashish Mishra, said at the time of the incident, where an SUV mowed down the protesting farmers, the accused was not on the spot but present at a wrestling ground where senior UP ministers were to come.
"There are photographs of him at the wrestling ground, mobile phone locations of the time when the incident has taken place. He was not in the driving seat and another co-accused was seen coming out of the vehicle," he said.
The bench said it will not go into the merits of the case and it is for the trial court to see Mishra's defence of alibi and whether it was a case of section 304 (culpable homicide) or 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC.
Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for the victims, said it is a settled principle that when the trial court and the high court have denied bail, the top court will not interfere with the concurrent decisions.
The bench told Dave, "This will be a very dangerous proposition. Every day in and out we are granting bail to those who have been denied bail by the high court or the trial court."
"You see, problem is we have to balance the rights of everyone. At what stage we should intervene is the question. There are over 200 witnesses and trial is going to take time. Trial cannot happen on day to day basis. We only want that fair trial should not be compromised and witnesses or victims can depose freely, without any fear or coercion," the bench said.
Dave said the accused are very influential people and there are hundreds of ways to threaten the witnesses or victim families.
The bench has posted the matter for next hearing on January 11.
On December 6, the trial court had framed charges against Ashish Mishra and 12 others for murder, criminal conspiracy and related offences in the case of mowing down of protesting farmers in October 2021 in Lakhimpur Kheri, paving the way for the start of the trial.
A total of 13 accused, including Ashish Mishra, have been charged under IPC sections 147 and 148 related to rioting, 149 (unlawful assembly), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 427 (mischief) and 120B (punishment for criminal conspiracy), and section 177 of the Motor Vehicle Act.
The other 12 accused are Ankit Das, Nandan Singh Bisht, Latif Kale, Satyam alias Satya Prakash Tripathi, Shekhar Bharti, Sumit Jaiswal, Ashish Pandey, Lavkush Rana, Shishu Pal, Ullas Kumar alias Mohit Trivedi, Rinku Rana and Dharmendra Banjara. All of them are in jail.
On October 3, 2021, eight people were killed in Tikunia in Lakhimpur Kheri district during violence that erupted when farmers were protesting against the then Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya's visit to the area.
Four farmers were mowed down by an SUV, in which Ashish Mishra was seated, according to the Uttar Pradesh Police FIR.
Following the incident, the driver and two BJP workers were allegedly lynched by angry farmers. A journalist also died in the violence.
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Kejriwal resorting to 'vendetta politics', says BJP after MP Sandeep Pathak booked
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Saturday accused Aam Aadmi Party's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal of vendetta politics after Punjab Police booked Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak, who recently defected to the BJP.
In an X post, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed that Kejriwal is misusing the Punjab Police to settle political scores, and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has become a party to it.
"Two FIRs have been filed against Sandeep Pathak, who until recently was in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a Rajya Sabha MP and general secretary (organisation). What is baffling is the shameless, brazen vendetta politics being pursued by Arvind Kejriwal, with Bhagwant Mann complicit in it," Poonawalla said.
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"It is clear this has been done out of vendetta politics by Kejriwal, who is extremely vengeful and vindictive, and misuses the Punjab Police to pursue such political vendetta," he alleged.
Questioning the timing of the FIRs, Poonawalla said, "If these cases existed from the beginning, why were FIRs not filed earlier? If he was corrupt, why was he kept in the party for so long, especially when he was the general secretary (organisation)? Has any new material surfaced in the last few days, or has the alleged corruption occurred only now?"
He alleged that Kejriwal has an "old habit" of targeting political opponents and dissenters.
"We have seen how he has used the police against rivals, including Congress leaders. This is his old habit," Poonawalla said, referring to the withdrawal of Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh's security.
Poonawalla claimed that several leaders who had left AAP over the years, including Yogendra Yadav, Mayank Gandhi, Ashish Khetan, Ashutosh and Alka Lamba, were "hounded".
He accused the party of failing to introspect.
"Instead of introspecting on how they have changed -- from Anna to Lalu, from Lokpal to corruption -- they are indulging in vendetta politics, trying to victimise people using the strong arm of the law. This reflects an Emergency-like mindset and a dictatorial, Hitlerian mindset," he said.
According to sources, two FIRs have been lodged against Pathak under non-bailable sections.
No further details about the FIRs have been disclosed yet.
On April 24, the AAP suffered a jolt when seven of its 10 Rajya Sabha MPs quit, alleging that Arvind Kejriwal's party has strayed from its principles, values and core morals.
Of the seven MPs -- who were Pathak, Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikramjit Sahney and Swati Maliwal -- six were from Punjab.
Later, Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan officially accepted their merger with the BJP, reducing AAP's strength in the Upper House to three.
