Mumbai, May 4: The Bombay High Court on Monday granted bail to lawyer-activist Surendra Gadling, who is an accused in the Bhima-Koregaon–Elgar Parishad case, primarily on the ground of prolonged incarceration. Gadling has been in custody since his arrest on June 6, 2018.
Bail granted on grounds of prolonged incarceration
A bench of Justices Ajey Gadkari and Kamal Khata dictated the order in open court, granting bail on the same terms and conditions as imposed on other co-accused by the special court.
The bench also noted that all other accused in the case have already been released on bail, and extended similar relief to Gadling on the principle of parity.
With this order, all those arrested in the over eight-year-old case are now out on bail. The court said a detailed order would be made available later.
Gadling had approached the High Court seeking bail mainly on the grounds of the length of his custody.
NIA opposes plea citing other case
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) opposed the plea, citing his alleged involvement in other cases, including the 2016 Surajgarh (Gadchiroli) arson case, where he is accused of conspiring to set ablaze more than 80 vehicles transporting iron ore. He was formally arrested in that case on March 18, 2016, while already in custody in the present case.
Despite being granted bail in the Bhima-Koregaon matter, Gadling will remain in jail as his bail plea in the arson case is still pending before the Supreme Court.
Background of the Bhima-Koregaon case
The case stems from alleged inflammatory speeches at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which, according to the police, triggered violence at Koregaon-Bhima the following day. The Pune Police initially investigated the matter, claiming Maoist links to the event, before the probe was transferred to the NIA.
Among those granted bail in the case are Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Anand Teltumbde, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Shoma Sen, Gautam Navlakha, Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Jyoti Jagtao, Mahesh Raut, and activists Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor.
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A total of 16 persons were arrested in connection with the alleged conspiracy. Father Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist, died in custody in July 2021 while awaiting trial.
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