Lakhimpur Kheri case: UP govt opposes Union minister's son's bail in SC
Darpan News Desk IANS, 19 Jan, 2023 11:32 AM
Lucknow, Jan 19 (IANS) In a surprise move, the Uttar Pradesh government, on Thursday, opposed the bail plea of Union Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra's son, who is one of the accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, in the Supreme Court.
Additional Advocate General for Uttar Pradesh Garima Prasad told a bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice J.K. Maheshwari that the crime is "grave".
"It is a grave and heinous crime and (granting bail) will send a wrong signal to society," she said when asked for reasons to oppose the bail plea.
"We are taking prima facie view that he is involved and he is an accused and not innocent. Is it the state's case that he has attempted to destroy evidence?" the bench asked.
The court said about the grave and heinous crime there are two versions and it cannot comment on any of the versions.
The additional advocate general replied, "That has not happened till now."
Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for those opposing the bail plea, said grant of bail will send a terrible message to society.
"It is a conspiracy and a well-planned murder. I will show it from the charge sheet. He is the son of a powerful man being represented by a powerful lawyer," he said.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the accused Ashish Mishra, strongly opposed Dave's submission and said, "What is this? Who is powerful? We are appearing every day. Can this be a condition to not grant bail?"
Rohatgi submitted that his client has been in custody for more than a year and the way the trial is going, it will take seven to eight years to complete it.
He pointed out that Jagjeet Singh, who is the complainant in the case, is not an eyewitness and his complaint is just based on hearsay.
"Jagjit Singh is the complainant and he is not an eyewitness. I am surprised that when there are many people saying we ran over people mercilessly, an FIR is registered on the version of a person who is not an eyewitness?" Rohatgi said, adding that his client is not a criminal and there are no past records.
It may be recalled that on October 3, 2021, eight people were killed in Lakhimpur Kheri district's Tikunia in a violence that erupted when farmers were protesting against UP Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya's visit to the area.
According to the Uttar Pradesh Police FIR, four farmers were mowed down by an SUV, in which Ashish Mishra was seated.
Following the incident, a driver and two BJP workers were allegedly lynched by angry farmers. A journalist also died in the violence.
On December 6 last year, a trial court had framed charges against Ashish Mishra and 12 others for the alleged offences of murder, criminal conspiracy and others in the case of death of the protesting farmers 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 a.k.a Satya Prakash Tripathi, Shekhar Bharti, Sumit Jaiswal, Ashish Pandey, Lavkush Rana, Shishu Pal, Ullas Kumar Trivedi, Rinku Rana and Dharmendra Banjara.
According to sources, hot water (maad) of rice was kept in an open tub after the mid-day meal was cooked in Chhechani Middle School of Sellari Panchayat situated near an Anganwadi centre. The incident took place on November 24 when the victims who studied in the centre wandered near the school ground while playing and fell into the tub.
During the meeting, Gates lauded the work done by Uttar Pradesh government in recent years, underlining the Covid management and encephalitis control despite a dense population. "Uttar Pradesh is a model not only for India, but for the whole world," she said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minster Amit Shah on Tuesday paid tributes to the Father of the Indian Constitution Bhim Rao Ambedkar on his death anniversary. Modi took to Twitter and expressed his gratitude for Ambedkar's work.
The accused have been identified as Amit Kedia (30), resident of SBI Colony near Kalyan Vihar; Sachin Gupta (36), resident of Pitampura; Rohit Jain (36), resident of Shalimar Bagh; and Pradeep Kumar alias Rahul alias Pradhan (34), resident of Model Town-III.
Ashish is the main accused in the incident wherein a vehicle belonging to the Union minister allegedly mowed down four farmers during a protest against the now-repealed agricultural laws. Two BJP workers and a driver were beaten to death, while a local journalist was killed in the violence that ensued.
Chairing a meeting with industrialists here to solicit their views on draft industrial policy, the Chief Minister said it would serve the twin motives as it would give impetus to industrial development on one hand and open new vistas of employment for rural youth on the other.
