Bhuvana Marni
Published on: October 18, 2022 at 23:57 IST
The son of Union Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra filed a plea on Monday asking for regular bail in the Lakhimpur Kheri riots case. The Supreme Court gave the State of Uttar Pradesh two weeks to respond with a counter-affidavit.
Justices BR Gavai and BV Nagarathna were sitting on the panel that was debating Mishra’s plea, which was filed in challenge to the Allahabad High Court’s ruling on July 26 that denied his regular bail application.
In the brief session held on Monday, senior attorney Mukul Rohatgi represented Mishra. He emphasised that the state has not yet submitted its response.
Speaking on behalf of the victims, Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave said that there were signs that the crime was “premeditated.”
On September 26, the State of Uttar Pradesh received a notification from the court.
Mishra was first granted bail by the Allahabad High Court on February 10. However, the Supreme Court overturned it in April 2022 after finding that the High Court had neglected important issues and taken into account irrelevant ones.
The High Court was then remanded in custody over the bail application.
The ruling was issued by the Supreme Court in response to an appeal filed by the relatives of the farmers who were killed in the crime.
Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, a retired judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, was appointed by the Supreme Court in November 2021 to monitor the investigation into the Lakhimpur Kheri riots.
In response to the Supreme Court’s criticism, the UP Police detained Mishra.