New Delhi: Questioning the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government’s inaction in the case of bail granted to the Union minister’s son Ashish Mishra, the Supreme Court on Monday, April 4, said that it expected the UP government to act on the suggestion of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) it had constituted, that had recommended the same. Mishra is accused of owning the vehicle which allegedly mowed down four farmers in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri last year. The court has reserved its order in the appeal against the grant of bail.
At this hearing, the Chief Justice of India (CJI)-led bench of the Supreme Court had revealed that the SIT had twice recommended that the state challenge Mishra’s bail, on the March 30 hearing of the special leave petition filed by the family members of the four farmers, against Ashish’s bail. The court has now reserved its order on the challenge.
Ashish Mishra is the son of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Minister of State for home, Ajay ‘Teni’ Mishra. On October 3 last year, after the car allegedly belonging to Ashish ran over four people who were part of a large group of farmers protesting a now-repealed central law. This also led to the death of a local journalist. The SIT led by Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, former judge of the Punjab and Haryana high court, later called the mowing down of the farmers a “planned conspiracy.”
Ironically, Mishra was granted bail by the Allahabad high court on February 10, the day of the first phase of the seven-phased Uttar Pradesh’s assembly polls. Lower courts had earlier rejected Ashish Mishra’s bail plea. He was released from prison on February 15 while elections were in full swing. Justice Surya Kant also noted during the hearing that the victims of the violence (mowing down) were not even heard during the virtual hearing of the High Court due to technical difficulties.
At the extended hearing of the cancellation of bail granted to Union Minister Ajay Mishra’s son, Ashish Mishra, on Monday, the Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hima Kohli, also pointed out that there was a problem in which the high court appeared to have gone into the merits of the case while hearing Mishra’s bail. The Bench also wondered why the High Court of Allahabad went into detailed examination of evidence at the stage of granting bail. Sabrang India
