The Supreme Court is understood to have cancelled the bail of Union Minister Ajay Mishra's son Ashish who is accused of running over and killing four farmers and a journalist in Lakhimpur Kheri.

On Monday, a special bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli asked the accused to surrender in a week's time.

The high court order was based on "irrelevant observations", the Supreme Court bench observed. It also asked him to go back to the Allahabad High Court and revisit his ball application, NDTV 24x7 reported.

Ashish Mishra was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court on February 10. This was challenged by the families of farmers who were killed on October 3 at Lakhimpur Kheri in UP.

Ashish was released from jail in Allahabad on Tuesday, February 15 after fulfilling bail conditions pronounced by the Allahabad High Court. Ashish had been lodged in the jail since October 10 last year in the case related to the killing of four farmers in the violence that had erupted in the course of farmers' agitation in Tikonia in the district.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) had named Ashish Mishra as the main accused in the knocking down of the farmers incident in its charge sheet submitted to the court.

Farmers were staging protest in Tikonia viage on October 3 last year against the visit of deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya to Ajay Mishra's native Banbir village when four of the agitating farmers were crushed under the wheels of a convoy of cars. In the subsequent violence, four others comprising two BJP workers, driver and a journalist were killed.

The top court had appointed Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain, a former judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to supervise on a day-to-day basis the Uttar Pradesh SIT's probe in the Lakhimpur Kheri violence.

The state government said, in accordance with the orders of the court, the families of all the victims of Lakhimpur violence case and all the witnesses, whose statements were recorded under Section 164 (by a magistrate), have been receiving continuous security under the Witness Protection Scheme of 2018.

On March 16, the top court had sought responses of the UP government and Ashish Mishra, on a plea challenging the grant of bail to him. It had also directed the state government to ensure protection of witnesses after counsel, appearing for farmers, referred to the attack on a key witness on March 10.

On October 3 last year, eight people were killed in Lakhimpur Kheri during violence that erupted when farmers were protesting against Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya's visit to the area.

Four farmers were mowed down by an SUV, in which Ashish Mishra was seated, according to the UP police FIR. Following the incident, the driver and two BJP workers were allegedly lynched by angry farmers.

A journalist also died in the violence that triggered outrage among opposition parties and farmer groups agitating over the Centre's now-repealed agricultural reform laws.