Lakhimpur Kheri: Supreme Court directs Ashish Mishra to respond to allegations of witness intimidation.

The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, directed Ashish Mishra, son of former Union Minister Ajay Mishra, to respond to the allegations of witness intimidation in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case (Ashish Mishra Alias Monu vs State of UP). This order came after Mishra’s counsel denied the accusations.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan asked Mishra’s lawyer to file an affidavit in response to the allegations, noting that photographs had been submitted to support the claims of witness threats. “There are photographs and allegations of threatening witnesses,” the Court remarked.
In response, Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave, representing Mishra, argued that the photos were submitted with indirect intent, adding, “It is not me. I have the photos… this is not meant for this Court. It’s meant for outside. Every time this case is listed, something like this comes up.”
The Court instructed Mishra’s counsel to submit an affidavit and scheduled the next hearing for four weeks later. “You have to state this in the affidavit,” the Court said, with Dave confirming the affidavit would be filed.
Ashish Mishra is accused of involvement in the killing of at least four farmers during a 2021 protest in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, against the now-repealed farm laws. Mishra is currently on bail. The violence also led to the deaths of four other individuals, including a journalist. The Uttar Pradesh Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) subsequently filed a 5,000-page chargesheet against Mishra and others.
The Supreme Court has been overseeing the progress of the case. The top court granted Mishra interim bail in January 2023 and regular bail in July 2023. As part of his bail conditions, Mishra can stay in Delhi or Lucknow but can visit Lakhimpur Kheri for trial purposes.
On November 12, the Allahabad High Court granted regular bail to 12 other co-accused, citing that many witnesses remain to be examined and the trial is unlikely to conclude soon.