A SPECIAL court on Monday rejected the bail applications of four accused in the Elgaar Parishad case. Special Judge Dinesh E Kothalikar rejected the bail pleas of Delhi University associate professor Hany Babu and three members of cultural group Kabir Kala Manch - Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor and Jyoti Jagtap. All four were arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2020. NIA had opposed the bail applications of the Kabir Kala Manch members stating that they were part of the Elgaar Parishad event held in Pune on December 31, 2017. It had alleged in the chargesheet that wanted accused, Milind Teltumbde, had discussed with the trio about the event. It was also claimed that with the help of the three and others, Maoist ideology was spread at the event. Against Babu, the NIA had claimed that he was instrumental in arranging meetings and funds in support of G N Saibaba, who is convicted on charges of having Maoist links. Lawyer Nihalsingh Rathod, appearing for Gorkhe and Gaichor, had said that the NIA had claimed that the two had performed a skit at the event, which spoke about the rule of Peshwas and democracy. He had also submitted that there was no evidence by the central agency to show that they had committed any offence under UAPA or sedition under which they were booked. On Monday, the NIA, through special public prosecutor Prakash Shetty, also sought a production warrant against Prashant Bose, alleged to be a CPI (Maoist) central committee member, who was arrested in November in Jharkhand. Shetty told the court that Bose is named as an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case and is required to be produced before the court in Mumbai. The court allowed the NIA plea and issued a production warrant against Bose. On Monday, the court also directed Taloja Central jail authorities to permit lawyer-accused Surendra Gadling to access Ayurvedic medicine after inspection of the prescription. The court also directed accused Shoma Sen and Jagtap to submit a list of books they wanted to read after NIA opposed their plea seeking access to books. Meanwhile, the ED approached the court seeking access to Gautam Navlakha in connection with its probe in the NewsClick case filed in Delhi.
