SC Cancelled the Bail Granted to Ashish Mishra in the Lakhimpur Kheri Violence Case

Recently, the Apex Court observed that a victim of a crime cannot be asked to wait till the trial begins to proclaim his/ her right to participate in criminal proceedings against the accused. The Top Court made the observations while cancelling the bail granted to Lakhimpur Kheri accused, Ashish Mishra.

The Bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli said "Under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), a victim cannot be asked to wait for trial for pleading his/her right to participate in the proceedings. The ‘victim’ has the unbridled legal right to hear and be heard from the stage of investigation till the culmination of the proceedings in an appeal or revision."

Last year, during the farmer's protest, eight people were killed in Lakhimpur Kheri. During the protests, the son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra Teni allegedly mowed down and killed eight protestors.

On October 9, 2021, Mishra was arrested. In November 2021, a trial court rejected Mishra's bail application which prompted him to move to the Allahabad High Court. The HC granted Mishra bail stating that Mishra might have sped up his vehicle in order to save himself from the protestors.

The family of the deceased persons moved to the SC seeking cancellation of the bail since the state did not file an appeal against the bail. Expressing disappointment at the way the Justice Rajeev Singh of the HC handled the case, the SC noted that an application for re-hearing was also moved on the ground that the victims could not participate in the proceedings. 

The SC, while cancelling the bail granted said that the HC took into account irrelevant considerations while bypassing the judicial precedents and parameters governing the exercise of discretionary power to grant bail.