The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court on Tuesday rejected the bail plea of Ashish Mishra alias Monu, son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra, in a case related to the Lakhimpur Kheri violence that had claimed eight lives. In its order, the bench also expressed concern over the role of media in the incident, saying, of late media is seen overstepping upon the sanctity of the judiciary in high-profile criminal cases, as was evident in the cases of Jessica Lal, Indrani Mukherjee, and Aarushi Talwar.
Pronouncing the order which was reserved on July 15, a bench of Justice Krishna Pahal observed, "Taking into consideration the complicity of applicant Monu, there was the apprehension of the witnesses being influenced, the severity of punishment as drawn from the nature and gravity of the accusations, after taking due consideration of the submissions of the parties and settled legal proposition, I do not find it a fit case for bail."
"The presence of the three vehicles at the spot from one of which applicant Monu was seen coming out is a crucial circumstance weighing against him," the court said.
Ashish Mishra is a co-accused in the killing of four farmers and a journalist at Tikunia in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri district on October 3 last year. The farmers and the journalist were mowed down by a speeding vehicle in which Monu was allegedly sitting. In the ensuing violence, two BJP workers and the driver of a vehicle were killed by an agitated mob. Two FIRs were lodged in connection with the violence.
Lamenting the incident, the high court bench observed, "Had both the sides (the applicant and the victim) observed a bit of restraint, we would not have seen the loss of eight invaluable human lives." The bench noted from the arguments tendered by both the parties that five persons (four farmers and one journalist) from the side of the victim were said to have died in the incident, and three persons were said to have been put to death from the side of applicant Monu. In addition to it, 13 persons sustained injuries from the side of the victim – informant and three from the side of applicant Monu.
Referring to certain pictures and audiovisuals placed by the applicant's and the victim's sides that were taken up from social media, the bench said, "The media has an indispensable role in highlighting the matters pertaining to the public utility at large. The media is supposed to provide news to the society, but sometimes we have seen that individual views are overshadowing the news thus putting an adverse effect on truth." "Now the problem has been multiplied by the electronic and social media, especially with the use of tool kits. At various stages and forums, it has been seen that ill-informed and agenda-driven debates are being undertaken by media running Kangaroo Courts," added the bench.
Reacting to the behavior of the agitating farmers, the bench observed, "The District Administration had issued a proclamation under Section 144 of CrPC, which was in effect on the date of incident and was equally applicable to not only the applicant Monu and his associates but also to the agitating/protesting farmers. The same had not been followed by either of the parties." It may be recalled that the high court had granted bail to Ashish Mishra on February 10, 2022. But the Supreme Court later directed the high court to decide his bail plea after affording adequate opportunity to the victim side. Accordingly, the high court heard his bail plea afresh. The high court had on May 9, 2022, rejected the bail pleas of co-accused Lavkush, Ankit Das, Sumit Jaiswal, and Shishupal.
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