Family members of two of the four farmers killed in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence in October last year moved the Supreme Court on Monday to challenge the bail granted to accused Asish Mishra, the son of Union minister Ajay Mishra Teni, by Allahabad High Court.

The petitioners maintained that the high court had failed to examine the “overwhelming evidence” against Asish.

“It is submitted that the impugned order is unsustainable in law and on facts and therefore the petitioners who are the family members of three individuals who were brutally murdered by the accused are approaching this Hon’ble Court as the State has failed to prefer any appeal against the impugned order,” the joint petition stated.

On October 3, four farmers and a journalist returning from a protest were mowed down by a VIP convoy led by the minister’s SUV that hit them from behind and ploughed through them. In retaliatory violence, the driver and two BJP workers were killed. Asish was allegedly in the SUV that mowed down the four farmers and journalist.

The incident, which had triggered nationwide outrage and allegations of shoddy investigation by the local police, had led a bench headed by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana to order a court-monitored SIT probe into the incident.

On February 10, Allahabad High Court granted bail to Asish who was formally released on February 16.

Challenging the bail through advocate Prashant Bhushan, petitioners Jagjeet Singh and Pawan Kashyap recalled that the apex court bench had, while forming an SIT on November 17, directed that the matter should be posted “for hearing on receipt of a status report from the monitoring Judge”, but it had not been listed even after the chargesheet was filed on January 3.

The petitioners wanted to know whether the high court could grant bail without considering in its order “the heinous nature of the crime; the character of the overwhelming evidence against the accused; position and status of the accused with reference to the victim and witnesses; the likelihood of the accused fleeing from justice and repeating the offence; and the possibility of his tampering with the witnesses and obstructing the course of justice”?

The petitioners said they were constrained to challenge the bail as the state of Uttar Pradesh “where the political party of the accused and his father is in power has failed to file appeal against the impugned order”.

“The order is perverse because the chargesheet in FIR No. 219/2021 was filed on 03.01.2022, however the bail applicant did not bring the same on record before the Hon’ble High Court prior to the date of final hearing on 18.01.2022 and the High Court neither considered nor dealt with the overwhelming evidence against the accused in chargesheet (a copy of which the Hon’ble High Court called for only after order was reserved on 18.01.2022 and on which no detailed submissions seem to have been made or considered) as regards the lead role of the accused in the murder of the victims in pursuance of a conspiracy which inter alia shows as under from statements recorded under Section 164 CrPC and forensic analysis,” the petition stated.

“The lack of any discussion in the Hon’ble High Court’s order as regards the settled principles for grant of bail is on account of lack of any substantive submissions to this effect by the State as the accused wields substantial influence over the State government as his father is a Union Minister from the same political party that rules the State,” the petition added.