The Supreme Court on Friday expressed disappointment over non-existence of witnesses in the ongoing trial against Ashish Mishra, son of former Union minister Ajay Mishra, and others in the 2021 Lakhimpur violence case, and sought a status report from the chief justice on the delay.
“We are disappointed to note that the so-called interim report of the Uttar Pradesh government does not specify any reason for not producing witnesses, as no witnesses have been examined in the last two months,” a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalia Bagchi said.
The court referred to an affidavit filed by advocate Ruchira Goel representing the UP government who said that in the main case against Ashish Mishra, out of 131 witnesses, 44 witnesses were examined, of which 15 were released and 72 witnesses are yet to be produced.
The court noted that the state’s previous affidavit dated March 9 indicated the same position as 44 witnesses being examined. “These are your official witnesses. There is no reason for their absence. In the intervening period (March 9 to May 4), was evidence recorded? What did you do from March until today?” The bench asked the lawyer representing Uttar Pradesh.
Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, representing Mishra, told the court that the witnesses did not appear despite bail orders issued by the trial judge to secure their presence. The court said that in such a situation, it would be possible for the court to call more witnesses in one day to avoid a situation where the witness fails to appear.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the victims, said the situation on the ground is “worrying” as they have information that the state police are visiting witnesses a day before they give the statement and they did not appear accordingly. He agreed to state these facts in his response to the UP affidavit. Last year, Bhushan had produced an audio clip to show how someone at the behest of the main accused was allegedly threatening a key witness in the case.
Goel told the court that the main accused who issued the threat has been arrested. However, an investigation is still underway to ascertain Mishra’s role. Bhushan said the “delay is unacceptable” as the petitioner’s (Mishra’s) complicity was the fulcrum of their allegations as one of his bail conditions requires that no person, directly or indirectly associated with the accused, contact witnesses. In response, the court said: “If we make harsh remarks that will affect the trial,” it also directed that the investigation in this matter be ended as soon as possible.
The investigating officer was also asked to submit a status report before the court within four weeks.
She also directed the trial judge to ensure full compliance with the witness protection regime and endeavor to conclude the trials in a time-bound manner in the main case along with a joint case in which the farmers retaliated and killed three persons allegedly involved in mowing down the protesters.
The court said: “We direct the president of the court to take legal measures to ensure the attendance of witnesses.” The case is scheduled for its next hearing in July.
On October 3, 2021, eight people, including four farmers, were killed at Tikuniya in Lakhimpur Kheri district during a farmers’ protest against Deputy Prime Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya’s visit to the district.
Four farmers were hit by a sports car. A driver and two BJP workers were allegedly lynched by angry farmers. A journalist also died in the violence.
Mishra was arrested within six days of the incident. Subsequently, a chargesheet was filed alleging that the killings were pre-planned when Mishra arrived in a sports car with a convoy of 3-4 vehicles to the site where the farmers were protesting. He is currently out on bail.
The police registered a separate criminal case in this regard against four farmers who were also released on bail. In this case, 26 witnesses were presented while nine have yet to be examined.
