Activists Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale get bail, six accused in Elgaar Parishad case still remain behind bars

Before this, activist-journalist Gautam Navlakha was granted bail in May 2024, following an order of the Supreme Court while noted that the trial will not conclude anytime soon. Navlakha was granted bail by the Bombay High Court on December 19, 2023, but he remained behind bars as the order was stayed to allow NIA to appeal in the Supreme Court.

In April 2024, activist and former Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen, was also granted bail, on the ground that she was in custody for over six years and the trial has not commenced. The NIA then did not oppose her bail, when asked by the court if her continued detention was necessary.

The first person to be released on bail in the case was Telugu poet P Varavara Rao, 82, on medical grounds for six months in February 2021. Though his bail was extended from time-to-time, HC rejected his plea for permanent bail in April 2022. In August 2022, the SC granted him bail on medical grounds since he had already spent over two years as an undertrial.

Lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj was granted default bail by the Bombay High Court on December 1, 2021, over three years after her arrest. In 2019, the HC rejected her bail plea, but her subsequent plea was allowed on the grounds that her detention was illegal since the court that had granted Pune police an extension to file a chargesheet under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act did not have the power to do so.

Former IIT professor Anand Teltumbde was the first accused to be granted bail in the case on merits on November 18, 2022. Arrested on April 14, 2020 by NIA, his bail order states that based on prima facie material produced, “it cannot be concluded that appellant has indulged in a terrorist act.”

On July 28, 2023, the Supreme Court granted bail to activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira. The court had then said that it was unable to accept the NIA’s contention that the duo “have committed the offence relating to support given to a terrorist organisation.”

Those still behind bars

Those who continue to be behind bars include lawyer Surendra Gadling, Delhi University associate professor Hany Babu, cultural artists and activists Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor and Jyoti Jagtap.

Mahesh Raut, who was granted bail on September 21, 2023, by the Bombay high court which said that “there is no corroboration at all” that he had received money from the co-accused belonging to CPI (Maoist) and that a person had been recruited through him, also remains behind bars. The high court had stayed his release for NIA to file an appeal, which has been extended from time to time by the Supreme Court for over a year, with the hearing on the merits of his case yet to take place.

On October 17, 2023, an HC bench rejected the bail plea of Jyoti Jagtap, observing that she was in active touch with all other co-accused working for different mask organisations to further the objectives of CPI (Maoist). Gadling’s bail application is pending before the high court.

Babu’s bail plea is pending before the Supreme Court. One of the main allegations against Babu is that he was part of a defence committee for the release of G N Saibaba, an assistant professor at Delhi University, who was arrested on charges of being a member of CPI (Maoist). Last year, Saibaba was acquitted from all charges by the Bombay High Court.

While granting bail to the accused so far, the courts have also considered their long incarceration without a trial. On August 18, 2022, the Supreme Court had directed the trial court to decide on framing of charges against the accused and their discharge applications in three months, granting it time till November 2022. The court had sought an extension of one year. The court heard the discharge applications during the last hearing on January 7 this year.