The Evening Wrap: SC sets aside Allahabad HC order granting bail to Ashish Mishra

The Supreme Court on Monday cancelled the bail granted by Allahabad High Court to Ashish Mishra, Lakhimpur Kheri case prime accused and a Union Minister’s son, in a “tearing hurry” and without giving the victims of the crime an opportunity to be heard. A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli directed him to surrender within a week. The order, read out in court by Justice Kant for the Bench, said the High Court exceeded its jurisdiction, denied victims a chance to participate in the bail proceedings and was in a “tearing hurry” to grant bail. He said the court, taking all these factors under consideration, could “rightfully cancel the bail”. But the court did not deny Mishra his right to seek bail and the High Court could consider his plea fairly, impartially and in an impassionate manner. Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, for the victims, urged the Bench to request the Allahabad High Court Chief Justice to list the bail, if sought, before “another judge” of the High Court. “Let us leave it here,” the Chief Justice told Dave, after conferring with the Bench. Justice Kant observed orally that “we are quite sure the judge would not want to hear it now”. Reading out the order, Justice Kant observed that the victims had a right to be heard at every stage. “Victims have unbridled participatory rights from the stage of investigation to culmination of proceedings... Victims have been clearly denied an opportunity to be heard at the time of grant of bail to the accused,” Justice Kant observed. The Bench said the High Court went into “several irrelevant considerations” and treated the FIR as an “encyclopaedia of the events”, and thus, the bail order could not be sustained. The court’s decision was based on pleas by the bereaved families of farmers who were killed when a vehicle allegedly ran over them. The farmers were protesting the controversial agricultural laws at the time of the incident. One of the key questions which the Supreme Court posed during the hearings was why the State of Uttar Pradesh did not appeal the bail in the Supreme Court. In fact, it had come out during the hearings that the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) and the retired High Court judge monitoring the probe had recommended to the State to file an appeal against the bail order of the High Court under the apprehension that Mishra was influential and could tamper the evidence or “influence witnesses” while out. “The question is why did you (Uttar Pradesh) not challenge the bail? You knew the circumstances under which we formed the SIT and requested a retired judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to monitor the investigation... You yourself admitted the offence is very serious. You say you vehemently opposed the bail application of the accused in the High Court... So we expected you to have acted on the suggestion of the SIT and the monitoring judge to appeal against the bail... You did not...” Chief Justice Ramana had addressed the State, represented by senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani. Jethmalani had agreed that the offence alleged, the crushing to death of farmers and a journalist, was indeed “grave”. But he argued that the State had already addressed this apprehension by providing witnesses with “extensive security”. He said there had been no “untoward incidents”. But Dave and advocate Prashant Bhushan, for the families, had countered the claim by referring to an incident in early March when a key witness was brutally attacked and threatened about his fate with the return to power of the BJP in the State post the Assembly election win. Justice Kant had queried whether the victims were ever heard by the High Court before bail was granted. Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, for Mishra, said no court would grant his client bail if the Supreme Court revoked it. “I will be in jail for all time to come... You could remand the case back to the High Court,” Kumar had argued. He said the accused was willing to abide by any bail conditions. Police investigation team attacked by family of man who opened fire in Jahangirpuri: officials A Delhi Police investigation team came under a “minor” attack on April 18 when it went to the house of a man who was seen firing a gunshot during violence in Jahangirpuri, officials said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Usha Rangnani said a northwest district police team had gone to the suspect’s house in CD Park Road for a search and examination of his family members. “His family members pelted two stones at the police team. Legal action is being taken. One person has been detained in this case. The situation is completely under control now,” she said. In a purported video of the Saturday violence, the man, wearing a blue shirt, was seen opening fire during the clashes that had erupted when a Hanuman jayanti procession was passing through localities in Jahangirpuri. “Media reports about fresh stone-pelting [on Monday] is an exaggeration of facts. It was a minor, one-off incident. Legal action is being taken,” Rangnani added. Meanwhile, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat slammed Delhi Police for a “one-sided” probe into the violence. “Did the police give permission to participants of the Hanuman Shobha Yatra held in Jehangirpuri in north-east Delhi on Saturday to carry firearms and swords, she asked Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana to explain. In a letter, Karat criticised the Delhi Police for carrying out a “one-sided” investigation where only those belonging to one community were being arrested for the riots. The Delhi Police should explain why the procession was allowed to stop in front of the mosque, triggering the riots. “You have stated that people from both communities have been arrested. We stand for the arrest and punishment of all those guilty. However, the overwhelming majority of arrests are from the minority community whereas the course of events shows that the main provocations and planning for the incidents was done by the organisation which held the procession, an affiliate of the Bajrang Dal as stated by the police,” Karat wrote. Citing the videos aired on several television channels along with eyewitness reports, the CPI(M) leader said these clearly showed that the procession taken out by members of the youth wing of the Bajrang Dal was armed with several men carrying naked swords, lathis and shockingly firearms. “These weapons were openly flaunted and brandished during the procession. The police have stated that the procession had police permission. Did the police give permission to carry arms? In fact the processionists who carried arms had clearly violated the Arms Act which has stringent provisions of imprisonment for such violations,” Karat added. It was not clear, she said, from Asthana’s statements whether the persons who were carrying the arms had been booked under the relevant provisions of law including the Arms Act. “It is also unclear from your statement whether there is any investigation into the role of the police. Who is accountable for allowing an armed procession to stop in front of a mosque shouting provocative and aggressive slogans at the exact time when the prayers to break the Roza fast were scheduled to begin? Such deliberate acts of omission and commission by the police have directly resulted in the ensuing incidents,” Karat said. The CPI(M) leader demanded a judicial enquiry into the incident and punishment to the police officers for failing to prevent the riots. Lt. Gen Manoj Pande appointed next Army Chief Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Manoj Pande has been appointed as the 29th Chief of Army Staff, becoming the first officer from Corps of Engineers to head the 1.3 million Army. He will take over on April 30 when the incumbent Gen Manoj Naravane is set to retire. Appointment is still awaited for the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) which has fallen vacant following the untimely demise of the first country’s CDS Gen Bipin Rawat in a chopper crash in December. Gen Naravane is presently the senior-most and front runner for the post. The tenure of Service Chiefs is 62 years of age or three years whichever is earlier while the age limit for the Chief of Defence Staff is 65 years of age with no fixed tenure defined. Lt Gen Pande was commissioned in December 1982 into the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers). He took over as Vice Chief on February 1 and prior to that was the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command. From June 1 till January 31 he served as the 15th Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman & Nicobar Command (CINCAN). So far all the Army Chiefs have been from the fighting arms – infantry, artillery and armoured. Lt Gen Pande is a graduate of Staff College, Camberley (United Kingdom) and attended the Higher Command Course at Army War College, Mhow and National Defence College (NDC) at Delhi. He was posted as Chief Engineer at the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea. He commanded an Engineer Regiment along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, an Engineer Brigade as part of the Strike Corps, an Infantry Brigade along the LoC, a Mountain Division in high altitude area of Western Ladakh and a Corps deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as also in counter insurgency operations area in the North East. Ukraine shows video of detained Putin ally calling for Mariupol swap Ukraine on Monday aired a video showing Viktor Medvedchuk, a detained pro-Russia tycoon and ally of President Vladimir Putin, seeking to be exchanged in return for an evacuation of civilians and troops from the besieged port city of Mariupol. Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukraine’s unexpectedly fierce resistance since Russian troops invaded the former Soviet state and pro-democratic country on February 24. “I want to ask Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to exchange me for Ukrainian defenders and residents of Mariupol,” he said in the video published by Kyiv’s security services, wearing black clothes and looking directly into the camera. Medvedchuk, who escaped from house arrest after Russia’s invasion and was detained last week, said the troops and residents there “do not have the possibility of a safe exit through humanitarian corridors”. Medvedchuk is one of Ukraine’s richest people and is known for his close ties to Putin. He is also a politician. He says Putin is the godfather to his youngest daughter, Darya. The Kremlin had earlier rejected the idea of exchanging him for Ukrainians detained by Russia, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky floated the idea of a swap. Separately on Monday, Russian state TV broadcast a video of what it described as “Britons” captured fighting for Ukraine demanding that Prime Minister Boris Johnson negotiate their release. The two men shown in the video asked to be exchanged for Medvedchuk, who had been accused of treason and attempting to steal natural resources from Russia-annexed Crimea and of handing Ukrainian military secrets to Moscow. In Brief The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday designated Ashiq Ahmed Nengroo, an alleged commander of proscribed outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), as a “terrorist” under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Nengroo, who is from Pulwama, has been accused of being involved in the infiltration of terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir, who have been responsible for various terror-related activities in the Union Territory. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow [logo] The Evening Wrap 18 APRIL 2022 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Lakhimpur Kheri violence case: Supreme Court sets aside Allahabad HC order granting bail to Ashish Mishra The [Supreme Court on Monday cancelled the bail granted by Allahabad High Court to Ashish Mishra]( Lakhimpur Kheri case prime accused and a Union Minister’s son, in a “tearing hurry” and without giving the victims of the crime an opportunity to be heard. A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana, Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli directed him to surrender within a week. The order, read out in court by Justice Kant for the Bench, said the High Court exceeded its jurisdiction, denied victims a chance to participate in the bail proceedings and was in a “tearing hurry” to grant bail. He said the court, taking all these factors under consideration, could “rightfully cancel the bail”. [File photo of Union Minister of State for Home Ajay Mishra’s son Ashish Mishra being taken from crime branch office to be produced before magistrate, in Lakhimpur Kheri. ] But the [court did not deny Mishra]( his right to seek bail and the High Court could consider his plea fairly, impartially and in an impassionate manner. Senior advocate Dushyant Dave, for the victims, urged the Bench to request the Allahabad High Court Chief Justice to list the bail, if sought, before “another judge” of the High Court. “Let us leave it here,” the Chief Justice told Dave, after conferring with the Bench. Justice Kant observed orally that “we are quite sure the judge would not want to hear it now”. Reading out the order, Justice Kant observed that the victims had a right to be heard at every stage. “Victims have unbridled participatory rights from the stage of investigation to culmination of proceedings... Victims have been clearly denied an opportunity to be heard at the time of grant of bail to the accused,” Justice Kant observed. The Bench said the High Court went into “several irrelevant considerations” and treated the FIR as an “encyclopaedia of the events”, and thus, the bail order could not be sustained. The court’s decision was based on pleas by the bereaved families of farmers who were killed when a vehicle allegedly ran over them. The farmers were protesting the controversial agricultural laws at the time of the incident. One of the key questions which the Supreme Court posed during the hearings was why the State of Uttar Pradesh did not appeal the bail in the Supreme Court. In fact, it had come out during the hearings that the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) and the retired High Court judge monitoring the probe had recommended to the State to file an appeal against the bail order of the High Court under the apprehension that Mishra was influential and could tamper the evidence or “influence witnesses” while out. “The question is why did you (Uttar Pradesh) not challenge the bail? You knew the circumstances under which we formed the SIT and requested a retired judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to monitor the investigation... You yourself admitted the offence is very serious. You say you vehemently opposed the bail application of the accused in the High Court... So we expected you to have acted on the suggestion of the SIT and the monitoring judge to appeal against the bail... You did not...” Chief Justice Ramana had addressed the State, represented by senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani. Jethmalani had agreed that the offence alleged, the crushing to death of farmers and a journalist, was indeed “grave”. But he argued that the State had already addressed this apprehension by providing witnesses with “extensive security”. He said there had been no “untoward incidents”. But Dave and advocate Prashant Bhushan, for the families, had countered the claim by referring to an incident in early March when a key witness was brutally attacked and threatened about his fate with the return to power of the BJP in the State post the Assembly election win. Justice Kant had queried whether the victims were ever heard by the High Court before bail was granted. Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, for Mishra, said no court would grant his client bail if the Supreme Court revoked it. “I will be in jail for all time to come... You could remand the case back to the High Court,” Kumar had argued. He said the accused was willing to abide by any bail conditions. Police investigation team attacked by family of man who opened fire in Jahangirpuri: officials A [Delhi Police investigation team came under a “minor” attack on April 18]( when it went to the house of a man who was seen firing a gunshot during violence in Jahangirpuri, officials said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Usha Rangnani said a northwest district police team had gone to the suspect’s house in CD Park Road for a search and examination of his family members. “His family members pelted two stones at the police team. Legal action is being taken. One person has been detained in this case. The situation is completely under control now,” she said. In a purported video of the Saturday violence, the man, wearing a blue shirt, was seen opening fire during the clashes that had erupted when a Hanuman jayanti procession was [passing through localities in Jahangirpuri.]( “Media reports about fresh stone-pelting [on Monday] is an exaggeration of facts. It was a minor, one-off incident. Legal action is being taken,” Rangnani added. Meanwhile, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat slammed Delhi Police for a “one-sided” probe into the violence. “Did the police give permission to participants of the Hanuman Shobha Yatra held in Jehangirpuri in north-east Delhi on Saturday to carry firearms and swords, she asked Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana to explain. In a letter, Karat criticised the Delhi Police for carrying out a “one-sided” investigation where only those belonging to one community were being arrested for the riots. The Delhi Police should explain why the procession was allowed to stop in front of the mosque, triggering the riots. [Women paramilitery personnel keep vigil after bricks were allegedly thrown at Delhi Police Crime Branch team at C-block in Jahangirpuri, in New Delhi on April 18, 2022.] “You have stated that people from both communities have been arrested. We stand for the arrest and punishment of all those guilty. However, the overwhelming majority of arrests are from the minority community whereas the course of events shows that the main provocations and planning for the incidents was done by the organisation which held the procession, an affiliate of the Bajrang Dal as stated by the police,” Karat wrote. Citing the videos aired on several television channels along with eyewitness reports, the CPI(M) leader said these clearly showed that the procession taken out by members of the youth wing of the Bajrang Dal was armed with several men carrying naked swords, lathis and shockingly firearms. “These weapons were openly flaunted and brandished during the procession. The police have stated that the procession had police permission. Did the police give permission to carry arms? In fact the processionists who carried arms had clearly violated the Arms Act which has stringent provisions of imprisonment for such violations,” Karat added. It was not clear, she said, from Asthana’s statements whether the persons who were carrying the arms had been booked under the relevant provisions of law including the Arms Act. “It is also unclear from your statement whether there is any investigation into the role of the police. Who is accountable for allowing an armed procession to stop in front of a mosque shouting provocative and aggressive slogans at the exact time when the prayers to break the Roza fast were scheduled to begin? Such deliberate acts of omission and commission by the police have directly resulted in the ensuing incidents,” Karat said. The CPI(M) leader demanded a judicial enquiry into the incident and punishment to the police officers for failing to prevent the riots. Lt. Gen Manoj Pande appointed next Army Chief [Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Manoj Pande]( has been appointed as the 29th Chief of Army Staff, becoming the first officer from Corps of Engineers to head the 1.3 million Army. He will take over on April 30 when the incumbent Gen Manoj Naravane is set to retire. Appointment is still awaited for the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) which has fallen vacant following the untimely demise of the first country’s CDS Gen Bipin Rawat in a chopper crash in December. Gen Naravane is presently the senior-most and front runner for the post. The tenure of Service Chiefs is 62 years of age or three years whichever is earlier while the age limit for the Chief of Defence Staff is 65 years of age with no fixed tenure defined. Lt Gen Pande was commissioned in December 1982 into the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers). He took over as Vice Chief on February 1 and prior to that was the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command. From June 1 till January 31 he served as the 15th Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman & Nicobar Command (CINCAN). So far all the Army Chiefs have been from the fighting arms – infantry, artillery and armoured. Lt Gen Pande is a graduate of Staff College, Camberley (United Kingdom) and attended the Higher Command Course at Army War College, Mhow and National Defence College (NDC) at Delhi. He was posted as Chief Engineer at the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea. He commanded an Engineer Regiment along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, an Engineer Brigade as part of the Strike Corps, an Infantry Brigade along the LoC, a Mountain Division in high altitude area of Western Ladakh and a Corps deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as also in counter insurgency operations area in the North East. Ukraine shows video of detained Putin ally calling for Mariupol swap [Ukraine on Monday aired a video showing Viktor Medvedchuk]( a detained pro-Russia tycoon and ally of President Vladimir Putin, seeking to be exchanged in return for an evacuation of civilians and troops from the besieged port city of Mariupol. Mariupol has become a symbol of Ukraine’s unexpectedly fierce resistance since Russian troops invaded the former Soviet state and pro-democratic country on February 24. “I want to ask Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to exchange me for Ukrainian defenders and residents of Mariupol,” he said in the video published by Kyiv’s security services, wearing black clothes and looking directly into the camera. Medvedchuk, who escaped from house arrest after Russia’s invasion and was detained last week, said the troops and residents there “do not have the possibility of a safe exit through humanitarian corridors”. Medvedchuk is one of Ukraine’s richest people and is known for his close ties to Putin. He is also a politician. He says Putin is the godfather to his youngest daughter, Darya. The Kremlin had earlier rejected the idea of exchanging him for Ukrainians detained by Russia, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky floated the idea of a swap. Separately on Monday, Russian state TV broadcast a video of what it described as “Britons” captured fighting for Ukraine demanding that Prime Minister Boris Johnson negotiate their release. The two men shown in the video asked to be exchanged for Medvedchuk, who had been accused of treason and attempting to steal natural resources from Russia-annexed Crimea and of handing Ukrainian military secrets to Moscow. In Brief The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday designated Ashiq Ahmed Nengroo, an alleged commander of proscribed outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), as a “terrorist” under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Nengroo, who is from Pulwama, has been accused of being involved in the infiltration of terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir, who have been responsible for various terror-related activities in the Union Territory. 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