NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday extended the interim bail granted to Ashish Mishra, son of Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra, accused in the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence case on death of eight people.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan also directed the Supreme Court's Registry to obtain a report from the trial court on the progress of the case.
On September 26, 2023, the Supreme Court had relaxed bail conditions for Mishra, by allowing him to visit and stay in Delhi to look after his ailing mother and to get treatment for his daughter.
The court had removed the previous condition which had prohibited him from travelling and entering Delhi-NCR.
The court, however, had made it clear that he should not participate in any public function or address the media in relation to the sub judice case.
The court had said that the bar against him entering Uttar Pradesh state will still continue to operate.
Eight persons, including four farmers, were killed on October 3, 2021, after violence broke out in the Lakhimpur Kheri district of state of Uttar Pradesh during a protest against the Centres farm laws that have now been repealed. Farmer bodies have alleged that a vehicle belonging to Mishra had run over a group of demonstrators.
The accused, Mishra was first arrested in the case on October 9, 2021. He walked out of jail on February 15, 2022, after the Allahabad High Court granted him bail.
On December 6, 2022, an Uttar Pradesh court had framed charges against 14 persons including Mishra.
Mishra has been charged for a number of offences including murder, attempt to murder, rioting and criminal conspiracy.
On January 25, 2023, the Supreme Court granted him bail in the case.
