The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 16 March issued notice to Lakhimpur Kheri case accused Ashish Mishra and the Uttar Pradesh government on a petition filed before it seeking cancellation of bail granted to Mishra by the Allahabad High Court.
The court will next take up the matter on 24 March, after its Holi vacations.
Mishra, the chief accused in the case relating to the deaths of four farmers in October 2021 who were mowed down by an SUV owned by him, had been granted bail by the high court on 10 February.
The state of UP has not filed an appeal against the high court's bail order. Several special leave petitions have therefore been filed by families of the farmers killed in the incident.
Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing on behalf of one of the petitioners, argued that the high court judge had "misdirected himself on principles of grant of bail" and that the decision to grant bail was questionable given the material against Mishra cited by the investigation in the chargesheet filed in the case.
Dave also reiterated that a protected witness in the case had been attacked on 10 March,
Chief Justice of India NV Ramana – who is hearing the matter along with Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli – asked the state of UP to file a detailed counter regarding not just the appeal, but the allegations of an attack on the witness, in response to the plea.
The bench also told the UP government to ensure that witnesses in the case are protected.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who had filed the case in the Supreme Court for the petitioners, had first informed the apex court of the allegations of an attack on the witness on 11 March.
During a brief hearing on 15 March, he had again mentioned this to the court, saying:
“After bail was granted to him (Mishra), one of the prime protected witnesses was brutally attacked. The people who attacked him said, now that BJP has won election they'll take care of him.”
The Kheri Police had confirmed to The Quint that an FIR had been registered regarding the attack and an investigation was ongoing.
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