The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended the interim bail of Lakhimpur Kheri case accused Ashish Mishra till September 26. 2023.
In January, the apex court had granted him eight weeks of interim bail and instructed him to leave Uttar Pradesh within one week of his release from jail.
The Lakhimpur Kheri incident occurred on October 3, 2021, when violence erupted during a protest by farmers against the visit of then Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to the Tikunia area.
During the unrest, four farmers were allegedly run over by an SUV in which Ashish Mishra was reportedly present. In the aftermath of the incident, the driver of the SUV, along with two BJP workers and a journalist, were allegedly lynched by enraged farmers.
During the granting of interim bail in January, the Supreme Court had warned Ashish Mishra that any attempt to influence or intimidate witnesses by him, his family, or his supporters would result in the cancellation of his bail. Additionally, he was required to surrender his passport to the trial court within one week of his release and was prohibited from entering Uttar Pradesh except for attending the trial proceedings.
The Supreme Court had also noted on April 24 that it may not be feasible to direct the trial court to conduct daily hearings in the case due to the potential impact on other pending cases.
