The Supreme Court has ordered the UP government to respond to the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case and to protect witnesses

*Paromita Das

The Supreme Court issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday, asking it to file a response to a petition seeking the cancelation of Lakhimpur Kheri violence accused Ashish Mishra’s bail.

The state government was also ordered by the Supreme Court to protect witnesses in the case.

The Supreme Court also agreed to hear a petition challenging the bail granted to Ashish Misra by the Allahabad High Court filed by the farmers mowed by his car.

On March 10, a protected witness in the case was assaulted. Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, who is representing the family members, told the bench led by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana that on March 10, a protected witness in the case was attacked, and the state government did not file an appeal challenging Misra’s bail in the case.

In response, the CJI directed the Uttar Pradesh government counsel to file a detailed counter-affidavit and emphasized the importance of the state government protecting witnesses in the case. The bench, which also included Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, set the case for further hearing on March 24.

On March 15, the Supreme Court announced the formation of a bench that had previously heard the case and scheduled the case for a hearing on Wednesday. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who is representing some farmers, claimed that one of the key witnesses in the case was attacked and that those who attacked him threatened to take care of him now that the BJP has won.

‘Bail was granted without regard for the heinous nature of the crime. On October 3, Ashish Mishra allegedly ran over eight people, including four farmers and a journalist, with his car during a protest against the now-repealed three farm laws in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district.

Mishra, who had been detained for four months, was granted bail by a single-judge bench of the Supreme Court in February. The plea argued that the family members were forced to go to the Supreme Court because the UP government failed to file an appeal challenging Misra’s bail, and that bail was granted despite the heinous nature of the crime. The plea also claimed that there was a possibility of the accused tampering with witnesses and obstructing justice. Misra, the son of Union Minister and BJP MP Ajay Kumar Misra, was arrested last October.