New Delhi: The Supreme Court Monday cancelled bail granted to Ashish Mishra, prime accused in last year’s Lakhimpur Kheri incident, which had resulted in the death of eight people.
Mishra, son of union minister Ajay Mishra Teni, was allegedly in the car that had on 3 October, 2021, mowed down four farmers who were protesting against the now-repealed farm laws, introduced by the Modi government in 2020. In retaliation, the protestors had resorted to violence, killing Mishra’s driver and three others. The incident had taken place in Tikoniya village in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district.
A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana said Monday that the Allahabad High Court had shown “tearing hurry” in granting bail to Mishra, and the order was liable to be set aside because it “denied victims the right to participate in the proceedings”. It added that the HC had also exceeded its jurisdiction by touching upon the merits of the case and making observations that can impact the trial in the case.
However, the court noted that Mishra too cannot be deprived of his legitimate right to seek enlargement of bail on relevant considerations. It, therefore, remanded the case back to the HC with a direction that it will re-examine his plea for bail afresh, after providing an opportunity to the complainant or victim to participate in the proceedings.
The bench added it was of the considered view that “ends of justice will be adequately met” if the matter is remanded back so that it can be decided in a “in a fair, impartial and dispassionate manner and keeping in view the settled legal parameters”.
‘Undue advantage’ to FIR
In February, this year, the Allahabad High Court had granted Mishra bail, after noting that the driver must have driven rashly to save himself from the angry protestors.
Families of the deceased farmers had then approached the top court, questioning Mishra’s bail and the HC order, claiming it ignored the police chargesheet that contained detailed allegations against Mishra.
The Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh, however, did not extend its support to the petitioners, and even rejected the recommendation made by a Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT), urging it to move the apex court to seek the cancellation of Mishra’s bail. The SIT had made the recommendation on the ground that Mishra could tamper with witnesses, but this was not acceptable to the state.
On Monday, the SC bench, also comprising justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, acknowledged that the HC had failed to hear the victims before deciding Mishra’s bail plea. A complainant has “participatory right” from the stage of investigation up to the trial, under criminal jurisprudence, the bench remarked.
Further, the bench lamented that the HC had overlooked relevant considerations and gave importance to “irrelevant considerations”.
Despite several SC judgments, ruling that an FIR cannot be treated as an encyclopedia of events, the HC went on to give “undue advantage” to the FIR in the case, as well as the subsequent post-mortem and injury reports. There was no legal necessity for the same, the apex court added.
“The impugned order cannot be sustained and has to be set aside accordingly,” the court said, giving a week’s time to Mishra to surrender.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
Also read: MoS Ajay Mishra should’ve been sacked right after Lakhimpur speech, says Satya Pal Malik
Source: The Print
