Allahabad High Court Approves Bail for 12 Suspects in Lakhimpur Kheri Violence Incident.

The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to 12 people involved in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, which led to five deaths in October 2021. The Court stated that the case against these individuals was stronger than that of Ashish Mishra, the main accused, who received bail from the Supreme Court in July. Justice Krishan Pahal pointed out that the state did not provide any evidence showing that the accused had tried to escape the law or interfere with justice. The Court mentioned that both sides acknowledged differing accounts of the incident. It emphasized that the purpose of bail is to ensure the accused appear for trial, and there was no evidence suggesting the applicants would flee or disrupt the legal process.

In deciding to grant bail, the High Court considered several factors, including the conflicting accounts of the event. The Supreme Court had also made the interim bail for four individuals involved in a different version of the case permanent. The Court noted that many witnesses still need to be heard and that the trial is unlikely to finish soon. Additionally, there was no proof that the applicants had misused their interim bail before. Among those granted bail, eight were applying for the first time, while four had submitted second requests. The High Court reviewed all the applications together.

The applicants claimed they were not mentioned in the original FIR and that their involvement came to light later through witness statements during the investigation. They noted that while four people from the informant’s side, including a journalist, were killed, three from their side also lost their lives in the violence. The defense pointed out that this raised doubts about who the real aggressors were. They also mentioned that Section 144 of the CrPC, which limits unlawful gatherings, applied to both sides, indicating that the farmers’ procession was not completely peaceful. Additionally, the applicants expressed concern over the slow progress of the trial, with only seven out of 114 witnesses having been examined, suggesting the trial would not finish soon. The defense emphasized the bail granted to Ashish Mishra by the Supreme Court, arguing that the same rules should apply to the other accused. The High Court stated that bail aims to ensure the accused appear at trial, and there was no strong evidence indicating the applicants would evade justice, disrupt the trial, or commit new offenses. Therefore, the Court granted bail to all 12 accused.