The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday took an opposing stand against Ashish Mishra's bail plea in the Supreme Court, telling the country's top judicial body that granting him bail would "send the wrong signal to society".
"It is a grave and heinous crime and (granting bail) will send a wrong signal to society," the Uttar Pradesh government's counsel Garima Prashad informed a bench of Justices Surya Kant and J.K. Maheshwari.
The top court then asked if the UP government was suggesting that the accused could tamper with evidence if he's released from jail on bail. To this, Prashad replied to the bench, "That has not happened till now."
Defense Slams Slow Pace of Trial Against Mishra
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who is representing Ashish Mishra in the Supreme Court, however, opposed the Uttar Pradesh government's stance, stating that his client has already spent more than 12 months in custody.
He also criticized the slow pace of the trial before claiming that it would take another eight years to wrap it up.
Finally, he criticized Jagjeet Singh's complaint, saying it was only based on hearsay since the man was not an eyewitness in the case.
"Jagjit Singh is the complainant and he is not an eyewitness. I am surprised that when there is a large number of people saying we ran over people mercilessly, an FIR is registered on the version of a person who is not an eyewitness?" he said.
Rohatgi then highlighted the fact that Ashish Mishra has no previous record of criminal activity. He has also been cooperating with law-enforcement agencies and hence, shouldn't be denied bail.
Farmers' Protest in October 2021
In October 2021, eight people, including four farmers, two BJP workers, a journalist, and a driver, died as a result of violence during a farmer protest against the arrival of Uttar Pradesh Deputy State Chief Keshav Prasad in the area.
According to the First Information Report filed by the state police against Ashish Mishra, the four farmers were run over by a vehicle, in which he was occupying the front seat. Following the incident, angry farmers allegedly lynched two BJP workers and a driver.
The reporter also lost his life during the clashes.