Supreme Court asks UP govt to give FIR, arrest details on Lakhimpur Kheri case today

The Supreme Court has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to produce by Friday the first information report filed in the Lakhimpur Kheri incident, where Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra's son Ashish Mishra is alleged to have mowed down farmers protesting against farm laws, and names of accused arrested so far.

A bench of Chief Justice of India NV Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli asked UP additional advocate general Garima Prasad to submit a status report on the accused named in the FIR, and those arrested. The state police have since begun looking for Ashish Mishra who has been absconding.

The bench sought details of the PILs filed in the Allahabad high court. "Also the names of the accused and if they have been arrested," Justice Surya Kant said. Before adjourning the case for Friday, the bench directed the state government to provide immediate medical help to Lovepreet Singh, the mother of one of the farmers who died in the incident. Shift her to the nearby government medical college and give her all the medical help she wants, Justice Surya Kant said.


The FIR only names Ashish Mishra, apart from hundreds of unknown persons. Eight people died when a convoy of BJP leaders mowed down the farmers protesting the laws of the central government and in retaliatory violence that followed. The state has ordered a judicial enquiry into the incident and two people were questioned on Thursday, four days after the incident.

The CJI clarified that the court only wanted to deal with letter PILs sent to it and ensure justice in the case. Due to a miscommunication, the SC registry had instituted a case on the court's own motion. "We will, in any case, deal with it," the CJI said.

He made several attempts to speak to advocate Shiv Kumar Tripathi, one of the lawyers who sent a letter PIL, but gave up midway because of connectivity issues. In his short submission Tripathi said that incident was a gross "violation of human rights" and that the court should intervene. "The farmers are afraid of the government," he claimed.

AAG Prasad told the bench that it was an "extremely unfortunate incident," The CJI said: "We also feel the same." Prasad said that the state government had already filed an FIR, set up a judicial enquiry, and assured the court that the incidents would be properly looked into. Investigation is proceeding, she said.

The CJI sought to know who headed the commission of enquiry. Prasad said that it was headed by a retired high court judge. The state government has named former high court judge Pradeep Kumar Srivastava to head the commission, which has been given 2 months to complete the probe.