Sakina Tashrifwala
Published on: September 4, 2022 at 16:56 IST
The Allahabad High Court has granted accused Ankit Das an interim bail of 15 days, citing his health conditions since his imprisonment in October 2021.
Das is one of the 13 men who have been accused in the Lakhimpur Kheri Violence case, which happened on October 3, 2021.
He is the nephew of former minister Akhilesh Das and a friend of Ajay Mishra, who was the prime accused in the murder of eight people, including four farmers. He also owned one of the SUVs that was behind the Thar that knocked over four framers.
The counsel filed an instant bail plea on medical grounds, claiming that Das is suffering from Liver Fibrosis, which may lead to cancer if regular check-ups are not performed.
It was also further submitted that since his incarceration, no check-up has been done and if the court thinks it fitting, they should grant him bail to get his check-up done properly.
The court has ordered for his release on interim bail for 15 days.
The Lucknow Bench of Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh has given September 20, 2022 as the next date of hearing and directed Das that if he doesn’t show up, his bail will be deemed cancelled.
The accused, Ankit Das, has been booked under Sections 147, 148, 149, 302, 120-B, 307, 326/34, and 427/34 of the IPC read with Section 30 of the Arms Act and Section 177 of the Motor Vehicles Act.
His bail plea had been filed and rejected by the High Court in May 2022.
The court also further pointed toward the current media trials, which have violated the faith of the public regarding the judiciary in high-profile criminal cases. This leads to the public forming a biased opinion of the suspect before the court takes jurisdiction of the case.