Bhima-Koregaon case: Bombay HC grants default bail to Sudha Bharadwaj, to approach NIA court by Dec 8
The 8 other accused who had sought bail on similar grounds have been denied relief.
FollowThe Bombay High Court on Wednesday accepted the bail plea filed by activist and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, one of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, while rejected the plea for default bail of eight other accused. The Bombay High Court ordered her to approach the special National Investigation Agency court by December 8 about her release and bail conditions.
Bharadwaj, who was arrested on 28 August 2018 and has been in custody for over three years, will now have to approach the special NIA court for the actual grant of bail including conditions. After Bharadwaj was granted bail, advocate Yug Mohit Chaudhry, who appeared for the NIA, sought a stay of two weeks on the matter. He also sought cash surety.
A Division Bench of justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar said Bharadwaj was entitled to default bail and directed a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court to impose bail conditions on her on December 8.
The other eight accused are — Surendra Gadling, Varavara Rao, Sudhir Dhawale, Shoma Sen, Rona Wilson, Mahesh Raut, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira.
Bharadwaj had filed a plea in the high court arguing that she should be granted default bail as the judge who had taken cognisance of the case against her was not designated to hear cases under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Bharadwaj is among the 14 activists, lawyers and academicians still in jail for allegedly conspiring to set off caste violence in a village near Pune in 2018. Tribal rights activist Stan Swamy, one of the accused in the case, died in custody in July this year after being repeatedly denied bail despite his frail health. Varavara Rao, an 81-year-old Telugu poet, had been granted bail on medical grounds in February.
