New Delhi: Ashish Mishra, accused in the 2021 Lakhimpuri Kheri violence, has been granted interim bail by the Supreme Court. Directions have also been issued to the trial court to expedite proceedings in the case.

The latest order by the apex court is in continuation of its previous order, issued on January 25 last year, that had granted Ashish Mishra interim bail in the "unfortunate ghastly incident" of violence, PTI reported.

Besides Mishra, a bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan granted bail to farmers – Guruwinder Singh, Kamaljeet Singh, Gurupreet Singh and Vichitra Singh – in the case.

"Taking into consideration all the attending circumstances, the interim order is made absolute... We are informed that out of 114 witnesses, seven have been examined so far. In our considered view the trial proceedings need to be expedited," the PTI report quoted the court as saying. "We direct the trial court to fix the schedule, keeping in view the pendency of other time-bound or urgent matters but prioritising the pending subject."

The Lakhimpur Kheri violence dates back to October 3, 2021, when eight people, including four farmers, were killed when violence broke out in Tikunia located in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri district when farmers were protesting against deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya's visit to the area.

Four farmers were mowed down by a sports utility vehicle. A driver and two Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers were then lynched allegedly by angry farmers. A journalist also died in the violence. Ashish Mishra, the key accused, is the son of former Union minister Ajay Mishra.

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