SC to set up bench to hear plea against bail to Ashish Misra in Lakhimpur Kheri case
Darpan News Desk IANS, 15 Mar, 2022 11:52 AM
New Delhi, March 15 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will constitute a bench to hear on Wednesday a plea filed by the family members of the farmers, mowed by a car belonging to Ashish Misra, in Lakhimpur Kheri challenging bail granted to him by the Allahabad High Court.
Misra is the son of Union Minister and BJP MP Ajay Kumar Misra.
A bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana said a bench will be constituted, which heard the matter earlier and scheduled the matter for hearing on Wednesday.
Earlier, a bench comprising Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli had appointed a former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to monitor the probe.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing some farmers, submitted that there was an attack on one of the prime witnesses in the case. Bhushan claimed people who attacked the witness threatened by saying that now that the BJP has won, they will take care of him. He had submitted that other co-accused are also seeking bail relying on the high court order. In February, a single-judge bench of the high court granted bail to Mishra who had spent four months in custody.
On March 11, the Supreme Court had agreed to list on March 15, a plea filed by the family members of the farmers, mowed by a car belonging to Ashish Misra, in Lakhimpur Kheri challenging bail granted to him by the Allahabad High Court.
The plea contended that the family members were forced to move the apex court since Uttar Pradesh has failed to file an appeal challenging bail granted to Misra.
The plea argued that the high court granted bail without considering the heinous nature of the crime and also in the backdrop of overwhelming evidence against the accused in the charge sheet. The plea further argued that there is likelihood of the accused tampering with the witnesses and causing obstruction in justice.
In November last year, the Supreme Court appointed Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, a former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, to monitor the Lakhimpur Kheri violence probe. The top court also reconstituted the SIT investigating the incident and appointed IPS officer S.B. Shiradkar, as its head.
Misra was arrested on October 9 last year in the case. On October 3, 2021, eight people, including four farmers, were killed in Lakhimpur Kheri in clashes during a farmers' protest.
Sidhu was charged under section 323 of the Indian Penal Code for voluntary causing hurt, however he was let off with just fine. The top court had observed that the incident was more than 30 years old, and there was no past hostility between accused and victim. The court also noted that no weapon was used by the accused.
The accused has been identified as Noori Ibrahim, a resident of Vellore, Tamil Nadu. Her agent, Ibraheem Keethadth, a resident of Bengaluru, has also been arrested.
Sisodia concluded with "dissatisfaction" over unchanged Income Tax slab. "Today, this country needed some relief in the income tax slabs. This would have helped our middle class regain purchasing power and enter the markets. This would have naturally helped the economy grow."
Observing the 3rd World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day as a key moment to highlight the global community's commitment to ending these, India joined close to 40 other nations to illuminate iconic landmarks to raise awareness. This year, India lit up the New Delhi Railway Station in purple and orange hues to mark the occasion.
The accused have been identified as Nitin Pratap alias Atul and Sandeep Kumar -- residents of Firozabad in Uttar Pradesh. Police said the accused used a Suzuki Gixxer motorcycle for the last two months to commit the crime in Gurugram and Rajasthan, and they used to travel from Tapukara in Rajasthan once a week to snatch mobile phones.
The deceased, identified as Megha Kayal, 40, was working as a doctor in London Milton Keynes University Hospital. Prior to this, she was a doctor at Apollo hospital, Sarita Vihar, Delhi.
