SC grants bail to Ashish Mishra in Lakhimpur Kheri case

The Supreme Court on Monday gave bail to ex-Union minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra in the case related to the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence that claimed eight lives, and restricted his movement to Delhi or Lucknow.

On January 25 last year, the top court had given interim bail to Ashish Mishra in the "unfortunate ghastly incident" of violence.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan also granted bail to farmers in the case and directed the trial court to expedite hearing.

"Taking into consideration all the attending circumstances, the interim order is made absolute ...We are informed that out of 117 witnesses, seven have been examined so far. In our view the trial proceedings need to be expedited.

"We direct the trial court to fix the schedule, keeping in view the other time-bound or urgent matters that are pending but prioritising the pending subject," the bench said.

The violence in the district had erupted when farmers staged a protest against Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya's visit to the area.

Four farmers were mowed down by a sports utility vehicle. A driver and two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers were then allegedly lynched by angry farmers. A journalist also died in the violence that triggered outrage.