NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Superintendent of Police, Lakhimpur, to conduct an enquiry into the allegations that Ashish Mishra, son of former Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni, an accused in a case related to mowing down of eight persons, tried to influence the witnesses in the case.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh ordered for verifying the authenticity of the allegations in the application, seeking cancellation of the bail granted to Mishra alleging that he was trying to influence the witnesses in the case.
SC Orders Probe into Allegations Against Ashish Mishra in Lakhimpur Kheri Case
On July 22, 2023, the Supreme Court had granted him bail to Ashish with slew of directions.
Lakhimpur Kheri Case Update: Supreme Court Questions Witness Tampering Claims
Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Mishra, vehemently denied the allegations of the family members and said that the application was publicity oriented..
He said, on the relevant day, Mishra was at the Lok Sabha secretariat and there cannot be a bigger proof of the allegations being misplaced. "The applicants (Family members) have developed a habit of repeatedly making such kind of allegations against Mishra," Dave argued.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the family members, said that the identity of the witnesses sought to be influenced can't be revealed due to fear of reprisal.
"The bail of the accused (Ashish Mishra) be canceled immediately on breach of SC's orders," he argued before the Apex court.
Upon hearing the submissions of both the parties -- family members and Ashish Mishra -- the top court said that in such scenario, a parallel enquiry may be required to find out if the person alleged of trying to influence is Mishra's associate or planted by someone else.
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The bench said, "In our view, the veracity, genuineness and reliability of such material can be gone into by police administration who will submit a report on the allegations made."
According to the prosecution, eight persons, including four farmers, were allegedly killed on October 3, 2021, after violence broke out in the Lakhimpur Kheri district of state of Uttar Pradesh during a protest against the Centre’s farm laws that have now been repealed. The farmer bodies, in the case, have alleged that a vehicle belonging to accused Mishra had run over a group of demonstrators.
