SC acknowledges UP Police report giving clean chit to Ashish Mishra

The Supreme Court on Thursday took on record a status report filed by the Uttar Pradesh Police stating that its investigation found no evidence against former Union Minister Ajay Mishra and his son Ashish Mishra in the alleged witness intimidation case linked to the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana was hearing a matter in which the apex court is monitoring the progress of the Lakhimpur Kheri trials.

The Uttar Pradesh Police informed the CJI Kant-led Bench that a charge sheet had been filed only against one accused, Amandeep Singh, in the witness intimidation case and that the investigation did not reveal the involvement of Ashish Mishra, Ajay Mishra or others in the alleged offence.

Recording the contents of the status report, the apex court granted the complainant two weeks to file an additional affidavit in response to the findings of the state police.

Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Ashish Mishra, submitted before the CJI Kant-led Bench: “I have not been even named in the chargesheet. The trial will wrap up in three months.”

The witness intimidation proceedings stem from a complaint made by Baljinder Singh, a prosecution witness in the main Lakhimpur Kheri violence trial, who had claimed that attempts were made to dissuade him from deposing before the trial court.

After the Supreme Court earlier expressed concern over the delay in acting on the complaint, the Uttar Pradesh Police registered an FIR under Sections 195-A, 506 and 120-B of the IPC and commenced an investigation. The police investigation culminated in a charge sheet against Amandeep Singh, while the trial court has already taken cognisance of the case.

The status report also informed the apex court that 64 prosecution witnesses are yet to be examined in the principal trial arising out of the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

The matter is scheduled to be taken up again next month.

In an earlier hearing, the Supreme Court had directed the investigating officer to complete the remaining probe in the witness intimidation case and submit the final report before the competent trial court within four weeks.

The top court had also ordered that the investigation be conducted by an officer of the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP).

The alleged witness intimidation case arose during the pendency of the trials relating to the October 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, in which eight people were killed after violence erupted during farmers' protests against the visit of Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya.

According to the UP Police FIR, four protesting farmers were mowed down by an SUV in which Ashish Mishra was allegedly present.

Earlier, while monitoring the progress of the trials, the Supreme Court had expressed dissatisfaction over the slow pace of proceedings and directed the trial court to take lawful measures to secure the presence of witnesses in accordance with the witness protection scheme.

Observing that no prosecution witness had been examined for nearly two months despite the issuance of bailable and non-bailable warrants, the apex court had asked the trial court to make efforts to conclude both criminal trials in a time-bound manner.

It had also advised the prosecution to summon more witnesses on each date and drop unnecessary formal witnesses to expedite the trial.

During those proceedings, the victims' side had alleged that witnesses were being intimidated, prompting the Supreme Court to closely monitor the related investigation.