The Supreme Court has permitted Ashish Mishra, the prime accused in the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence case, to visit his hometown in Lucknow district to celebrate Diwali with his family and close relatives, subject to the conditions imposed in its March 2025 order.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana also reviewed the progress of the ongoing trial and stressed that the prosecution must ensure its timely conclusion without compromising procedural fairness or the rights of the accused.

“Your duty is to ensure that your witnesses are present. Let the trial be timely concluded. We do not want such a hurry that witnesses, cross-examinations or material evidence are left out. At the same time, we do not want prolonged delay. This balance has to be maintained by the prosecution,” CJI Kant observed.

During the hearing, the Additional Advocate General appearing for Uttar Pradesh informed the Bench that a Special Public Prosecutor had been appointed to conduct the trial. He added that 90 of the 131 prosecution witnesses had been examined, leaving approximately 41 witnesses to be examined.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the victims, expressed satisfaction with the progress reported before the Court.

The proceedings come amid concerns raised earlier over the pace and conduct of the trial. The Supreme Court had previously refused to relax Mishra's bail conditions to allow him to attend personal family functions, maintaining restrictions on his movements.

Bhushan had subsequently raised concerns about the alleged hurried exclusion of witnesses, missing trial records and the conduct of the presiding judge. The Supreme Court then asked the Allahabad High Court to examine the allegations against the trial judge and directed the appointment of an experienced public prosecutor.

Mishra faces murder charges in connection with the October 3, 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, in which eight people, including four protesting farmers and a journalist, were killed after an SUV convoy ran over protesters.

During Monday's hearing, Senior Advocate Siddhartha Dave, appearing for Mishra, clarified that the transfer of the previous trial judge was routine and not punitive. He also informed the Bench that the inquiry report concerning the judicial officer had been placed before the High Court's administrative committee for further action in accordance with the Supreme Court's directions.

Dave then sought a week's relaxation of Mishra's bail conditions to enable him to visit Lucknow for Diwali, citing the similar relief granted to him the previous year.

Allowing the request, the Bench directed:

“The petitioner is permitted to visit his hometown in Lucknow district to celebrate the coming Diwali festival along with his family members and close relatives. This will be subject to the conditions imposed in paragraph 9 of our order dated March 24, 2025.”