The trial in the Lakhmipur Kheri violence case could take around five years to complete, the judge hearing the matter told the Supreme Court of India on Wednesday in the status report filed by the Uttar Pradesh State Government.
Referring to the status report, the bench of Justices Surya Kant and V. Ramasubramanian hearing the bail plea of Ashish Mishra, the main accused in the case, said: “He (sessions judge) says in normal course, it may take five years as there are 208 prosecution witnesses, 171 documents and 27 forensic science laboratory (FSL) reports in the case.”
The status report was filed after the top court had last month asked the sessions court to share how much time "in the normal course" was it likely to take to conclude the trial, without compromising with the schedule of other pending or prioritized cases.
The country's Supreme Court is hearing the bail plea filed by Mishra in the case involving protesting farmers who were mowed down by a car allegedly driven by him in October 2021 in Lakhimpur Kheri.
The judges, during the hearing, also asked the lawyers appearing for the Uttar Pradesh government to confirm whether the four accused in a separate case lodged over the killing of three occupants of the SUV, which mowed down farmers in the incident, are still in custody.
The case has now been listed for hearing on January 19.
Lakhimpur Kheri Incident
On October 3, 2021, violence erupted in Tikunia Village of Lakhimpur Kheri district in Uttar Pradesh after an SUV allegedly driven by Ashish Mishra, son of federal Minister Ajay Mishra Teni, mowed down four farmers protesting against the now-scrapped farm laws.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Uttar Pradesh police had registered a case against Ashish and 12 other accused. The SIT also filed a 5,000-page charge sheet which stated Ashish was the main accused.
Ashish was granted bail by Allahabad High Court on February 10, 2022 but the Supreme Court cancelled it in April and asked him to surrender within a week.