Lakhimpur Kheri Case : Supreme Court Questions UP Police For Not Acting On Witness's Complaint Of Threat

The Supreme Court today directed Uttar Pradesh police to verify allegations and take necessary action on a complaint made by a person regarding threats/inducement to not depose in the Lakhimpur Kheri Violence case involving former Union Minister's son Ashish Mishra.

Insofar as the UP government did not register an FIR despite a formal complaint being made by the person, on the ground that he did not appear before the police authorities, the Court expressed dissatisfaction and said,

"That may not be a satisfactory explanation on behalf of the police. In case the complainant has been reluctant in coming forward in support of his complaint, some senior police officer can be deputed to visit the complainant/to verify if complaint has been made by him. If such contents are acknowledged, it is imperative for police to investigate. Necessary consequences must follow."

It further ordered, "Since we have already directed that a fresh status report with respect to complaint of Baljinder Singh be filed, we direct senior SP, Lucknow to file such affidavit after verification of complaint".

A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh also directed the Trial Court to examine as many witnesses as possible on the next date (August 20).

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, for the victims, submitted that on March 24, the Court gave liberty to one Baljinder Singh to make a complaint regarding alleged threat made to him to prevent him from deposing. On June 20, a complaint to that effect was made, but no FIR was registered by the police, despite Lalita Kumari judgment mandating that FIR be registered within a week.

"On 24 March, your lordships had passed an order...Baljinder Singh was given liberty to make complaint with authorities...we made a complaint in writing on 20 June pointing out that he was called by this person and given inducement of Rs.1 lakh...threatened that if he deposed, he will face dire consequences. Reason why he didn't depose is given in his complaint. Despite the complaint being given, no FIR till date...despite Lalita Kumari judgment saying within 1 week FIR has to be registered" Bhushan urged.

Explaining the inaction, UP Sr Additional Advocate General Garima Prashad said that the complainant-Baljinder Singh was called by the Superintendent of Police, but he did not appear.

The bench however did not find this explanation satisfactory. "Where a complaint is received, which prima facie discloses a cognizable offense, and if you find that for reasons unknown to you, the complainant is not coming forward...what's wrong if your police officer goes there and finds out?" posed Justice Kant to Prashad. Seeing what was falling from the Court, she replied, "we will do that".

At this point, Bhushan contended that if substance is found in Baljinder Singh's complaint, Mishra's bail will have to be cancelled. This was vehemently countered by Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Mishra, who argued that such an allegation is made repeatedly while there is no proof of any inducement/threat extended at the behest of Mishra. Dave further informed that since the last date, 20 witnesses have been examined and 20 dropped by the prosecution. He also stated that the Trial Court is hearing the matter thrice every month, but "nobody turns up".

While Bhushan prayed for a day-to-day trial, the bench passed no such order, citing impact of such a direction on other cases. "Let a senior police officer examine [the complaint]", Justice Kant told Prashad.

Background

The case involves the killing of five persons in October 2021 in Lakhimpur Kheri, when vehicles of the convoy of Ashish Mishra allegedly ran over a group of farmers who were protesting against the farm laws. The case attracted political controversy as Mishra's father - Ajay Kumar Mishra - was then a Union Minister.

The Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the incident and criticized the Uttar Pradesh police for its failure to arrest Ashish Mishra. He was later taken into custody following the Court's criticism.

The Allahabad High Court granted bail to Mishra on February 10, 2022, but it was set aside by a Supreme Court bench comprising then CJI NV Ramana, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hima Kohli in April 2022 after noting that the High Court took into account irrelevant considerations and ignored relevant factors. The bail application was then remanded to the High Court. The Supreme Court's order came in an appeal filed by the relatives of the farmers who got killed in the incident.

After re-hearing the matter, the High Court dismissed the bail application.

In January 2023, the Supreme Court granted Mishra interim bail for 8 weeks, which was extended from time to time. The order came with a slew of conditions. The interim bail order was later made absolute. The Court permitted Mishra to stay either in Delhi or Lucknow, UP.

In November, 2024, the Court sought Mishra's response on allegations of threatening witnesses in the case. In January this year, the Court directed Superintendent of Police, Lakhimpur to conduct a fact-finding inquiry into the allegations.

In May, the Court relaxed Mishra's bail conditions and allowed him to visit Lakhimpur Kheri every Saturday evening to spend time with family, subject to the condition that he should return to Lucknow Sunday evening. The Court added that while in Lakhimpur Kheri, Mishra should not participate in any public meeting or political activities and that the visit shall be private only for the family members.

Case Title: Ashish Mishra Alias Monu v. State of U.P. SLP(Crl) No. 7857/2022 

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