New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the trial courts to indicate how much time it will take to conclude the trial in connection with the Lakhimpur Violence case against Ashish Mishra.
The court further sought to know how long the alleged accused in the case can be kept in jail. A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Krishna Murari directed the Registrar General of the Supreme Court to communicate from the first Additional Sessions Judge at Lakhimpur Kheri and to find out how much time the trial is likely to take without compromising with another pending matter.
The Supreme Court was hearing the plea filed by Ashish Mishra challenging the Allahabad High Court order which denied bail to him in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case.
During the hearing, the court asked how to balance the interests of justice and society together here and said that if we keep him behind bars, we are not pre-supposing guilt.
The court also remarked that the protection of witnesses has to continue and the fairness of the trial must not be compromised.
Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh Government said that the case is of serious nature. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Mishra, said that his client was not present on the spot during the incident and he was attending the ‘dangal’ (wrestling) in some other place.
The court sought to know the distance between the ‘dangal’ and the incident place. The lawyer replied that it is 4 km.
The court also sought to know how long Mishra has been kept behind the jail. The lawyer responded that he has remained in jail for more than a year.
The court also sought to know how many witnesses have been cited by the prosecution in the case. The lawyer replied that there are 200 prosecution witnesses in the case.
The court remarked on how long the accused should be kept behind the bar and how to make a balance between the right accused and the victim.
Apart from being accused and victim, society has a lot of interest in this case. How to balance the right between all these aspects, the court added.
Senior Advocate Dushyant Dave, appearing for the family members of the deceased, said that the accused’s father had said that he would teach a lesson and witnesses are being attacked. He also said that these are powerful people and “if someone can kill merely because they are agitating, then nobody is safe in a democracy.”
The court has listed the matter for further hearing in January next year.
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