As Shoma Sen gets bail, what is the status of other accused in Elgaar Parishad case?

Case and arrests

The Elgaar Parishad case is one of two ongoing investigations related to the Koregaon Bhima violence of January 1, 2018. It is alleged that banned Maoist groups organised a programme on December 31, 2017, the eve of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima (British East India Company vs Peshwa, 1818), where speeches were made that provoked the next day’s violence.

Sixteen arrests were made in the case — nine by Pune Police in 2018, and another seven by the NIA after it took over the investigation in January 2020. Among those arrested were prominent lawyers, activists, and academics, who were accused of being members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), and furthering the cause of the Maoists.

Bail for accused

Among the 16 individuals arrested in the case, one — Father Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old-priest and tribal rights activist based in Jharkhand — passed away in custody in July 2021.

Before Sen, seven other accused have been given bail. Two of these eight accused, however, are yet to be released from custody because the NIA has appealed the High Court’s bail orders in the SC.

Besides Sen, the accused who have got bail and are now out of jail are:

P VARAVARA RAO: The first accused to be given bail was Telugu poet P Varavara Rao, on medical grounds, for six months in February 2021. While the bail was extended, Bombay High Court rejected his plea for permanent bail in April 2022. However, in August 2022, the SC gave Rao bail on medical grounds, since he had already spent more than two years as an undertrial. Rao is 83 now.

SUDHA BHARADWAJ: Lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj was granted default bail by the HC on December 1, 2021, more than three years after her arrest. The HC had rejected her bail plea in 2019, but a subsequent plea was allowed on the ground that her detention was illegal — the HC found that the court that granted Pune Police an extension to file a chargesheet under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, did not have the power to do so.

ANAND TELTUMBDE: Former IIT professor Anand Teltumbde was the first accused to be granted bail in the case on merits on November 18, 2022. His bail order said that based on prima facie material produced, “it cannot be concluded that appellant has indulged in a terrorist act”. The NIA had arrested Teltumbde on April 14, 2020.

VERNON GONSALVES & ARUN FERREIRA: On July 28, 2023, the Supreme Court granted bail to activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira. The court said that it was unable to accept the NIA’s contention that the two accused “have committed the offence relating to support given to a terrorist organisation”.

Activists Mahesh Raut and Gautam Navlakha were given bail by the High Court, but they have not been released yet. The HC stayed the implementation of the bail orders to allow the NIA time to file appeals in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has extended the stay, and the NIA’s appeals against their bail orders are pending hearing.

MAHESH RAUT: Bombay High Court granted bail to activist Mahesh Raut on September 21, 2023. The court said “there is no corroboration at all” that he had received the money from the co-accused belonging to CPI (Maoist), or that a person had been recruited through him.

GAUTAM NAVLAKHA: On December 19, 2023, Navlakha was granted bail by the Bombay High Court, which said that no covert or overt terrorist act under UAPA has been attributed to him. In October 2022, the Supreme Court had permitted Navlakha to be kept in house arrest on account of his ill health. He continues to be under house arrest in Navi Mumbai.

Still behind bars

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

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 mask organisations to further the objectives of CPI (Maoist).

The appeals of Wilson, Gadling, and Dhawale are pending before the High Court. The special court had previously rejected their pleas.

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 month, Bombay HC acquitted Saibaba of all charges.

Status of the Bhima Koregaon case

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 is still hearing discharge applications. The last hearing was on April 1 this year.