SC relaxes Lakhimpur Kheri case accused Ashish Mishra's bail condition, allows him to meet ailing mother in Delhi

Ashish Mishra, the prime accused in the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, has been granted permission by the Supreme Court to travel to Delhi to meet his ailing mother and avail treatment for his daughter.

The apex court has relaxed the bail condition for the Lakhimpur violence accused and while passing the order, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Dutta, asked Mishra not to address the media or any public meeting during this time.

The request was submitted by senior advocate Siddhartha Dave who said Mishra’s mother has been admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in the national capital and that his daughter needed to undergo some surgeries.

The bench proceeded to allow Mishra’s application to travel to and reside in Delhi.

Mishra, son of the minister of state in the Ministry of Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni was granted interim bail on 25 January on condition that he shall not stay in Delhi or Uttar Pradesh.

The court today clarified that the restriction on Mishra’s entry to Uttar Pradesh, except for attending the trial in the case, will continue to operate.

Lakhimpur Kheri violence case

On 3 October 2021, eight people were killed in Tikunia district of Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri where violence broke out during farmers’ protest against the now revoked farm laws.

According to an FIR by Uttar Pradesh Police, four farmers were mowed down by an SUV that belonged to Mishra.

Following this, Mishra was arrested on 9 October 2021, after a daylong interrogation by the Special Investigation Team (SIT). On 15 February 2022, the Allahabad High Court granted him bail. However, he had to surrender on 24 April, 2022, after his bail order was cancelled by the Supreme Court.

In January 2023, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and JK Maheshwari granted Mishra an eight-week interim bail and stated that the top court would monitor the trial in the case.

With inputs from agencies