Lakhimpur Kheri case | Farmers’ families seek urgent hearing of plea against bail to Union Minister’s son

The families’ lawyer, advocate Prashant Bhushan, said the case was supposed to be listed on March 11, but was not

Families of farmers killed in Lakhimpur Kheri, who have challenged the bail granted to an accused, the son of a Union Minister, pleaded with the Supreme Court on March 11 to hear them urgently, saying a prime witness was ‘attacked last night’.

In an oral mentioning before Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, the families’ lawyer, advocate Prashant Bhushan, said the case was supposed to be listed on March 11, but was not.

The CJI assured Mr. Bhushan that the case would come up for hearing on March 15. It was a mistake on the part of the court’s office that the case was not listed on March 11.

Earlier, on March 4, Mr. Bhushan had mentioned and sought an early hearing of the families’ appeal against the bail granted by the Allahabad High Court to prime accused Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni.

“The prime accused has been granted bail for totally extraneous reasons. None of the considerations settled by the Supreme Court in law, like whether the accused can influence witnesses or tamper with evidence while out on bail, were ignored by the High Court,” Mr. Bhushan had submitted on March 4.

He said that other accused in the case, encouraged by Mr. Ashish Mishra’s bail, would also push for bail.

The families said they had appealed the February 10 bail order as the State of Uttar Pradesh did not budge.