News Analysis India

Tag: Varavara Rao

  • Treatment, straw, books… things Bhima Koregaon accused have asked courts for

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Supreme Court order permitting jailed activist Gautam Navlakha to be kept under house arrest for a month has brought to the fore several applications filed by the accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case lamenting lack of facilities in jail and denial of access to the same.

    Besides seeking medical treatment, the accused in the case have time and again approached courts for permission to get books, chairs, drinking straws, spectacles and mosquito nets inside the prison have asked courts for.

    In November 2020, accused Stan Swamy had filed an application before a special court here seeking straw and sipper at the Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai where he is lodged.

    In his plea, Swamy had said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) seized it from him and he was unable to lift a glass due to Parkinson’s disease.

    The NIA, in its reply, however, said it had not seized any straw and sipper glass from Swamy.

    Later, jail authorities provided him with a straw and sipper.

    Swamy died in July 2021 at a private hospital here while he was in judicial custody.

    In December 2020, Navlakha’s partner Sahba Husain said the former’s spectacles were stolen in jail and when his family sent him a new pair, the jail authorities refused to accept them.

    The high court had later criticised the jail authorities and said all these are human considerations.

    The jail authorities later accepted the pair of spectacles sent by Navlakha’s family.

    READ HERE | Relief for Bhima Koregaon accused Gautam Navlakha as SC paves way for house arrest

    In 2020, lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj had filed an application before the special court claiming she was not being allowed access to books.

    She said when books were sent for her, the Superintendent at Mumbai’s Byculla Jail, where she was lodged, had refused to receive them for her.

    The special court had allowed her plea to have access to five books per month from outside prison, while directing the jail superintendent to “carefully examine” the books to ensure they did not contain any “objectionable material”.

    The court had also said beyond the prescribed parameters to deem a book’s content “objectionable”, including whether it is vulgar, obscene or preaches violence, a superintendent did not have powers to withhold a book from a detainee.

    In April this year, Navlakha’s lawyer Yug Chaudhary had informed the Bombay High Court that prison authorities had refused to hand over a book by English author P G Wodehouse.

    During the arguments in the high court on Navlakha’s plea seeking to be kept under house arrest, Chaudhary had said the condition of the prison was very poor.

    The HC had then said the prison authorities’ action refusing Wodehouse’s book was comical.

    Navlakha and co-accused Sagar Gorkhe had filed applications in the special court seeking permission to have mosquito nets inside the prison.

    This was opposed by Taloja jail authorities citing security concerns.

    ALSO READ | Bhima Koregaon case: Pune cop planted evidence in devices of jailed activists, says report

    The court did not allow the pleas of Navlakha and Gorkhe, but directed the jail superintendent to take “all necessary precautions against mosquitoes, conduct fumigation, allow inmates to use repellents, ointments and incense sticks”.

    Navlakha had also filed another application in the special court seeking permission to make phone/video calls to his kin.

    The prison authorities had contended that the facility started during the COVID-19 pandemic, but could not be permitted to undertrials on a regular basis.

    The court rejected Navlakha’s plea, following which he filed an appeal in the high court.

    Surendra Gadling, another accused in the case, had filed an application seeking a chair and table citing medical ailments, claiming he was unable to squat on the floor for long without developing pain in his back and neck.

    ALSO READ | SC grants bail to Bhima Koregaon case accused Varavara Rao on medical grounds

    Gadling had said he needed the table and chair as he had to study a lot since he was representing himself in the case.

    Prison authorities had opposed this plea as well citing security risks.

    The court agreed with Gadling’s contention, observing that the allegations he has to defend himself against are serious and there are a large number of documents he needs to study for hours together.

    Gadling was allowed a chair and table at his cost.

    Gadling had also sought permission to have his own shaving kit, which was opposed by the prison authorities.

    The court agreed with the prison authorities that it would pose danger and rejected the application.

    MUMBAI: The Supreme Court order permitting jailed activist Gautam Navlakha to be kept under house arrest for a month has brought to the fore several applications filed by the accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case lamenting lack of facilities in jail and denial of access to the same.

    Besides seeking medical treatment, the accused in the case have time and again approached courts for permission to get books, chairs, drinking straws, spectacles and mosquito nets inside the prison have asked courts for.

    In November 2020, accused Stan Swamy had filed an application before a special court here seeking straw and sipper at the Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai where he is lodged.

    In his plea, Swamy had said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) seized it from him and he was unable to lift a glass due to Parkinson’s disease.

    The NIA, in its reply, however, said it had not seized any straw and sipper glass from Swamy.

    Later, jail authorities provided him with a straw and sipper.

    Swamy died in July 2021 at a private hospital here while he was in judicial custody.

    In December 2020, Navlakha’s partner Sahba Husain said the former’s spectacles were stolen in jail and when his family sent him a new pair, the jail authorities refused to accept them.

    The high court had later criticised the jail authorities and said all these are human considerations.

    The jail authorities later accepted the pair of spectacles sent by Navlakha’s family.

    READ HERE | Relief for Bhima Koregaon accused Gautam Navlakha as SC paves way for house arrest

    In 2020, lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj had filed an application before the special court claiming she was not being allowed access to books.

    She said when books were sent for her, the Superintendent at Mumbai’s Byculla Jail, where she was lodged, had refused to receive them for her.

    The special court had allowed her plea to have access to five books per month from outside prison, while directing the jail superintendent to “carefully examine” the books to ensure they did not contain any “objectionable material”.

    The court had also said beyond the prescribed parameters to deem a book’s content “objectionable”, including whether it is vulgar, obscene or preaches violence, a superintendent did not have powers to withhold a book from a detainee.

    In April this year, Navlakha’s lawyer Yug Chaudhary had informed the Bombay High Court that prison authorities had refused to hand over a book by English author P G Wodehouse.

    During the arguments in the high court on Navlakha’s plea seeking to be kept under house arrest, Chaudhary had said the condition of the prison was very poor.

    The HC had then said the prison authorities’ action refusing Wodehouse’s book was comical.

    Navlakha and co-accused Sagar Gorkhe had filed applications in the special court seeking permission to have mosquito nets inside the prison.

    This was opposed by Taloja jail authorities citing security concerns.

    ALSO READ | Bhima Koregaon case: Pune cop planted evidence in devices of jailed activists, says report

    The court did not allow the pleas of Navlakha and Gorkhe, but directed the jail superintendent to take “all necessary precautions against mosquitoes, conduct fumigation, allow inmates to use repellents, ointments and incense sticks”.

    Navlakha had also filed another application in the special court seeking permission to make phone/video calls to his kin.

    The prison authorities had contended that the facility started during the COVID-19 pandemic, but could not be permitted to undertrials on a regular basis.

    The court rejected Navlakha’s plea, following which he filed an appeal in the high court.

    Surendra Gadling, another accused in the case, had filed an application seeking a chair and table citing medical ailments, claiming he was unable to squat on the floor for long without developing pain in his back and neck.

    ALSO READ | SC grants bail to Bhima Koregaon case accused Varavara Rao on medical grounds

    Gadling had said he needed the table and chair as he had to study a lot since he was representing himself in the case.

    Prison authorities had opposed this plea as well citing security risks.

    The court agreed with Gadling’s contention, observing that the allegations he has to defend himself against are serious and there are a large number of documents he needs to study for hours together.

    Gadling was allowed a chair and table at his cost.

    Gadling had also sought permission to have his own shaving kit, which was opposed by the prison authorities.

    The court agreed with the prison authorities that it would pose danger and rejected the application.

  • SC grants bail to Bhima Koregaon case accused Varavara Rao on medical grounds

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted regular bail to Bhima Koregaon case accused Varavara Rao on medical grounds.

    The 83-year-old poet and activist, who has challenged the Bombay High Court’s April 13 order rejecting his plea for permanent bail on medical grounds, is currently on interim bail on medical grounds and he was to surrender on July 12.

    On July 19, the top court observed that the interim protection granted to Rao would continue. The apex court on July 12 had extended Rao’s interim protection till further orders.

    The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.

    The Pune Police had also claimed that the conclave was organised by people with alleged Maoist links.

    The NIA later took over the probe in the matter.

    In his plea filed against the April 13 order of the high court, Rao has said, “The petitioner is an 83-year-old renowned Telugu poet and orator, who has undergone over two years of incarceration as an under-trial.”

    The plea submitted that “any further incarceration would ring the death knell for him as advancing age and deteriorating health are a fatal combination”.

    It said Rao had challenged the high court order as he was not granted an extension of bail despite his age and precarious health condition, and his prayer to shift to Hyderabad was also denied.

    Rao was arrested on August 28, 2018 from his Hyderabad residence and is an under-trial in the case for which an FIR was lodged by Pune police on January 8, 2018 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

    Initially, Rao said he was put under house arrest following an order of the apex court.

    On November 17, 2018, he was taken into police custody and later shifted to the Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai.

    On February 22, 2021, the Bombay High Court granted him interim bail on medical grounds and he was released from jail on March 6, 2021.

    Giving extensive details of his health condition, including his sufferings in jail, Rao had said the high court order dated February 22, 2021 had contemplated that the petitioner could be on medical bail for an extended period and even permanently on medical grounds, depending on his condition supported by medical examination reports.

    The plea said that after being granted bail, the petitioner’s health had deteriorated and he had developed an umbilical hernia for which he had to undergo surgery.

    He needs to be operated for cataract in both eyes, which he has not undertaken as the cost is prohibitive in Mumbai, the plea said, adding the petitioner has also been suffering from neurological problems.

    “It is submitted that in the totality of circumstances, the trial will take not less than 10 years. In fact, one of the accused in the case, Father Stan Swamy, who was suffering from similar ailments as the petitioner, passed away even before the trial could start,” it said.

    The high court rejected the plea but extended the time for the activist to surrender before the Taloja prison authorities by three months to enable him to undergo cataract surgery.

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted regular bail to Bhima Koregaon case accused Varavara Rao on medical grounds.

    The 83-year-old poet and activist, who has challenged the Bombay High Court’s April 13 order rejecting his plea for permanent bail on medical grounds, is currently on interim bail on medical grounds and he was to surrender on July 12.

    On July 19, the top court observed that the interim protection granted to Rao would continue. The apex court on July 12 had extended Rao’s interim protection till further orders.

    The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.

    The Pune Police had also claimed that the conclave was organised by people with alleged Maoist links.

    The NIA later took over the probe in the matter.

    In his plea filed against the April 13 order of the high court, Rao has said, “The petitioner is an 83-year-old renowned Telugu poet and orator, who has undergone over two years of incarceration as an under-trial.”

    The plea submitted that “any further incarceration would ring the death knell for him as advancing age and deteriorating health are a fatal combination”.

    It said Rao had challenged the high court order as he was not granted an extension of bail despite his age and precarious health condition, and his prayer to shift to Hyderabad was also denied.

    Rao was arrested on August 28, 2018 from his Hyderabad residence and is an under-trial in the case for which an FIR was lodged by Pune police on January 8, 2018 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

    Initially, Rao said he was put under house arrest following an order of the apex court.

    On November 17, 2018, he was taken into police custody and later shifted to the Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai.

    On February 22, 2021, the Bombay High Court granted him interim bail on medical grounds and he was released from jail on March 6, 2021.

    Giving extensive details of his health condition, including his sufferings in jail, Rao had said the high court order dated February 22, 2021 had contemplated that the petitioner could be on medical bail for an extended period and even permanently on medical grounds, depending on his condition supported by medical examination reports.

    The plea said that after being granted bail, the petitioner’s health had deteriorated and he had developed an umbilical hernia for which he had to undergo surgery.

    He needs to be operated for cataract in both eyes, which he has not undertaken as the cost is prohibitive in Mumbai, the plea said, adding the petitioner has also been suffering from neurological problems.

    “It is submitted that in the totality of circumstances, the trial will take not less than 10 years. In fact, one of the accused in the case, Father Stan Swamy, who was suffering from similar ailments as the petitioner, passed away even before the trial could start,” it said.

    The high court rejected the plea but extended the time for the activist to surrender before the Taloja prison authorities by three months to enable him to undergo cataract surgery.

  • SC set to hear pleas of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma, Varavara Rao

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday is scheduled to hear various cases including the petition of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma seeking revival of her plea for clubbing of FIRs lodged over her remarks on Prophet and plea for bail on medical grounds of P Varavara Rao in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case.

    A bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala is likely to hear Sharma’s plea, who has also sought expunction of adverse remarks made against her on July 1 while refusing to entertain her plea for clubbing of the FIRs, saying she has been receiving death threats after the criticism, according to a lawyer associated with the case.

    The top court is also slated to hear Rao’s plea for permanent medical bail.

    He has challenged the Bombay High Court order rejecting his petition for permanent medical.

    A bench comprising Justice U U Lalit, S R Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia will take up the plea of the 83-year-old accused.

    The plea challenging the appointment of Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Rakesh Asthana as Delhi Police Commissioner is also listed for hearing before the apex court on Tuesday.

    A bench headed by Justices D Y Chandrachud and A S Bopanna is likely to hear the matter.

    The SC is also scheduled to take up pleas against the Centre’s Agnipath scheme alleging that the government has quashed the century-old selection process for the Armed forces which is contrary to the constitutional provisions and without having parliamentary approval.

    A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, Surya Kant and A S Bopanna will hear the plea challenging the new recruitment scheme.

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday is scheduled to hear various cases including the petition of former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma seeking revival of her plea for clubbing of FIRs lodged over her remarks on Prophet and plea for bail on medical grounds of P Varavara Rao in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case.

    A bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala is likely to hear Sharma’s plea, who has also sought expunction of adverse remarks made against her on July 1 while refusing to entertain her plea for clubbing of the FIRs, saying she has been receiving death threats after the criticism, according to a lawyer associated with the case.

    The top court is also slated to hear Rao’s plea for permanent medical bail.

    He has challenged the Bombay High Court order rejecting his petition for permanent medical.

    A bench comprising Justice U U Lalit, S R Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia will take up the plea of the 83-year-old accused.

    The plea challenging the appointment of Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Rakesh Asthana as Delhi Police Commissioner is also listed for hearing before the apex court on Tuesday.

    A bench headed by Justices D Y Chandrachud and A S Bopanna is likely to hear the matter.

    The SC is also scheduled to take up pleas against the Centre’s Agnipath scheme alleging that the government has quashed the century-old selection process for the Armed forces which is contrary to the constitutional provisions and without having parliamentary approval.

    A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, Surya Kant and A S Bopanna will hear the plea challenging the new recruitment scheme.

  • Bhima Koregaon case: Supreme Court adjourns Varavara Rao’s medical bail plea to July 19

    By PTI

    The Supreme Court on July 12 adjourned the hearing on a petition filed by Telugu poet and Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case accused P Varavara Rao’s plea for permanent medical bail plea to July 19.

    The plea had challenged the Bombay High Court order rejecting Rao’s prayer for permanent medical bail in the matter.

    In his plea filed through advocate Nupur Kumar against the April 13 order of the high court, Rao has said, “The petitioner is an 83-year-old renowned Telugu poet and orator, who has undergone over two years of incarceration as an under-trial, and is currently enlarged on bail on medical grounds by the Bombay High Court respectfully submits that any further incarceration would ring the death knell for him as an advancing age and deteriorating health are a fatal combination”.

    The plea said Rao has challenged the high court order as he was not granted an extension of bail despite his advanced age and precarious health condition, and his prayer to shift to Hyderabad was also denied.

    He was arrested on August 28, 2018 from his Hyderabad residence and is an under-trial in the Bhima Koregaon case for which an FIR was lodged by Pune police on January 8, 2018 under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

    Initially, Rao said he was put under house arrest pursuant to an order of the apex court and ultimately, on November 17, 2018, he was taken into police custody and later, shifted to the Taloja jail.

    On February 22, 2021, the Bombay High Court had granted him bail on medical grounds and he was released from jail on March 6, 2021.

    Giving extensive details of his health condition, including his sufferings in jail, Rao said the high court order dated February 22, 2021 had contemplated that the petitioner could be on medical bail for an extended period and even permanently on medical grounds, depending on his condition supported by medical examination reports.

    READ HERE | Bhima Koregaon case: Pune cop planted evidence in devices of jailed activists, says report

    “The judges in the impugned judgement and order committed a serious error in proceeding on the footing that because the earlier order had granted bail for a limited period of time, namely six months, it (the earlier bench) was not prepared to grant the bail for an unlimited period of time,” the plea said.

    It added that after grant of bail, the petitioner’s health deteriorated and he had developed an umbilical hernia for which he had to undergo surgery.

    He needs to be operated for cataract in both eyes, which he has not undertaken as the cost is prohibitive in Mumbai, the plea said, adding the petitioner has also been suffering from neurological problems.

    “It is submitted that in the totality of circumstances, the trial will take not less than 10 years. In fact, one of the accused in the case, Father Stan Swamy, who was suffering from similar ailments as the petitioner, passed away even before the trial could start,” it said.

    On April 13, the high court had rejected the plea but extended the time for the activist to surrender before the Taloja prison authorities by three months, to enable him to undergo cataract surgery.

    It had also dismissed Rao’s application seeking that he be permitted to stay in Hyderabad instead of Mumbai, while out on bail.

    The high court had said it had found substance in several claims made by Rao’s counsel on the lack of medical facilities at the Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai and the poor hygienic conditions there.

    The court had directed the Maharashtra inspector general of prisons to submit a “candid” report on the state of such facilities, at the “Taloja prison in particular”, and also at all prisons across the state.

    The case pertains to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which, the police claimed, triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.

    The Pune police had also claimed that the conclave was organised by people with alleged Maoist links.

    Later, the National Investigation Agency took over the probe in the matter.

    (With online desk inputs)

  • Elgar case: HC dismisses plea of Varavara Rao & 2 other accused seeking default bail 

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by Varavara Rao and two other activists, arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, seeking a review of an earlier order of the HC which refused them default bail.

    The high court said it finds it difficult to hold there was any factual error in its earlier judgement and requires a review.

    “No case for review is made out,” a division bench of Justices S S Shinde and N J Jamadar said.

    The HC rejected the petition filed by the three accused – Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves – challenging a previous order of the high court that refused to grant them default bail in the case.

    Rao is currently out in medical bail, while the other two petitioners are in jail.

    The three accused had challenged a December 1, 2021 order passed by the bench led by Justice Shinde that granted default bail to lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, a co-accused in the case, but denied default bail to eight other accused persons, including the three petitioners.

    At that time, the HC had said the accused persons, other than Bharadwaj, had not filed their pleas seeking default bail before the lower court within the time stipulated by law.

    In their pleas, filed through advocates Sudeep Pasbola and R Satyanarayanan, the accused said the HC’s order was based on a “factual error,” as it failed to note that the lower court had rejected the default bail pleas filed by Bharadwaj, the three petitioners, and two other co-accused persons through a common order.

    Hence, if the HC, in granting bail to Bharadwaj, set aside the lower court order of November 6, 2019, the others too were entitled to relief.

    The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had opposed the plea on the ground that the accused were seeking the same prayer of default bail under the guise of review, and that it was an abuse of the process of law and sets a wrong precedent.

    The case, now being handled by the NIA, pertains to the ‘Elgar Parishad’ conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which according to Pune police was funded by Maoists.

    The inflammatory speeches made there led to violence at the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial in Pune the next day, the police had alleged.

  • ‘How he can be sent to jail amid COVID surge?’ HC extends Varavara Rao’s surrender date

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Friday extended till February 5, the date of surrender for poet Varavara Rao, an accused in the Elgar Parishad- Maoist links case who is currently on medical bail, before Taloja prison authorities in Maharashtra.

    A bench of Justices SS Shinde and NR Borkar dismissed the National Investigating Agency’s (NIA) request for extending such date of surrender only by a week.

    The bench said in view of the rising cases of coronavirus across the state, it would not be wise to send the 83-year-old poet-activist back to prison.

    Rao, who was lodged in the Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai as an undertrial, was granted temporary medical bail for six months in February 2021 by another bench of the HC that was led by Justice Shinde.

    He was admitted to the private Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai at the time for treatment of multiple ailments.

    His date of surrender was scheduled for September 5, 2021, but Rao filed a new application through advocate R Sathyanarayanan and senior counsel Anand Grover seeking an extension of medical bail.

    The date of Rao’s surrender has been extended since then by the HC on several accounts, including further time sought by the NIA, which is investigating the case, for filing replies to the new application and getting the octogenarian medically examined again, among others.

    The NIA, however, has been opposing extension of Rao’s medical bail, saying his treatment at Nanavati Hospital is now complete and as per doctors there, he does not need continued medical care at the private hospital currently.

    On Friday, NIA counsel Sandesh Patil told the HC that Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh had not been briefed in the matter and sought a week’s time to complete the process.

    He urged the HC to grant the next date of hearing in a week’s time.

    The bench, however, said there was no point posting the matter for hearing next week and extending Rao’s date of surrender only till then, considering the coronavirus pandemic.

    “Mr Patil, there is no point in keeping (the plea for hearing) next week. Experts say third wave (of coronavirus) may last for 50 to 60 days. This time, the police, health workers are testing positive very rapidly. The situation wasn’t as bad the last time. So in such a situation, is it proper to send him (Rao) back to jail?” the judges asked.

    “Of course, we are aware of the seriousness of allegations (against Rao), and the point of law involved. We will hear you (all parties) on the next date on merits,” the bench said.

    Grover then told the HC that considering Rao’s health condition, his old age and chronic ailments, the Telegu poet had also filed a fresh application before the HC seeking “permanent bail on health grounds.”

    “We have also challenged some of the findings and medical report conclusions of Nanavati Hospital,” Grover told the HC.

    He referred to some reports, including a conclusion submitted in the HC by Nanavati Hospital doctors last month stating that Rao’s vital parameters were stable and he did not need further medical care.

    The NIA had cited this particular report to argue earlier that Rao be sent back to prison while the high court continued to hear on merits his applications for further medical bail.

    On Friday, the bench of Justices Shinde and Borkar said it will consider all contentions raised, including those in the new applications filed by Rao, on February 4, the next date of hearing.

    It, accordingly, extended the date of surrender for Rao till February 5.

    The bench also advised lawyers to stay safe and follow COVID-19 safety protocols.

    “This is high time to take full care. The spread is very rapid this time. We are seriously concerned about all stakeholders in the judicial system. Advocates, staff, clerks, their families. Here (in HC) also some of our colleagues have tested positive,” the bench said.

    “But fortunately, in Maharashtra and Mumbai, the central and the state governments, the BMC, local bodies are all doing a wonderful job. We have to respect their work,” it said.

    The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the ‘Elgar Parishad’ conclave, held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the city”s outskirts.

    The Pune police had claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists.

    The probe in the case, in which more than a dozen activists and academicians have been named accused, was later transferred to the NIA.

  • Bombay HC says Elgar Parishad accused Varavara Rao needn’t surrender till November 18

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday said poet Varavara Rao, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case who is on interim bail, need not surrender before the Taloja prison authorities until November 18 and adjourned the hearing on a plea filed by him to next month.

    Rao, 82, had been granted interim bail for six months on medical grounds by the HC on February 22 this year.

    He was scheduled to surrender and return to judicial custody on September 5.

    However, Rao filed an application last month through his lawyer R Sathyanarayanan and senior counsel Anand Grover, seeking extension of the bail period.

    He also sought HC permission to stay in his hometown of Hyderabad while out on bail.

    However, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the probe agency in the case, opposed Rao’s plea for extension of medical bail and shifting to Hyderabad, saying the octogenarian poet-activist’s medical reports do not indicate that he suffers from any serious ailment.

    In its affidavit filed before the HC last month, the NIA had said that the medical reports filed by Rao did not disclose any major ailment, which necessitated him to take treatment at Hyderabad, neither did it form a ground for further extension of bail.

    On Tuesday, a bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and SV Kotwal adjourned the hearing on Rao’s plea due to paucity of time.

    The bench also asked Rao to file a separate plea seeking permission to shift to his hometown while out on medical bail.

    As part of the stringent conditions imposed on his interim bail by the HC, Rao has been staying with his wife in a rented accommodation in Mumbai.

    At the time that he was granted bail, Rao had been undergoing treatment for multiple ailments at the private Nanavati Hospital in the metropolis, where he had been admitted by the Maharashtra prison authorities following the HC’s intervention.

    The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the ‘Elgar Parishad’ conclave, held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the city’s outskirts.

    The Pune police had claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists.

    The probe in the case, in which more than a dozen activists and academicians have been named accused, was later transferred to the NIA.

  • Activist-poet Varavara Rao issued NBW by Sessions Court

    By PTI

    BENGALURU: A court in Madhugiri in Tumakuru district, Karnataka, has issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against activist and revolutionary poet Varavara Rao.

    He is out on bail on medical grounds in a different case with a condition not to move out of Mumbai, his lawyer said.

    “It’s a case pertaining to an attack on policemen in Tumakuru in 2005 in which Varavara Rao and Gaddar (another activist-poet) are among the accused,” advocate S Balan told PTI.

    He said he would move the High Court on Monday challenging the NBW issued to Rao by the Additional Sessions Court at the taluk headquarters town of Madhugiri.

    The case in which Rao has been made an accused is related to an attack by the Naxalites on a police team killing six of them and a civilian at Venkatammanahalli in Pavagada Taluk in Tumakuru district on February 10, 2005.

    The 81-year-old poet-activist is also an accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case, which happened during the annual celebratory gathering on January 1, 2018 to mark the battle of Bhima Koregaon, fought 200 years ago.

    Rao, along with many other prominent people, was arrested under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for the alleged Elgar Parishad-Maoist link and was put in jail.

    He had applied for bail on the medical grounds, which the Bombay High Court granted in February this year with a condition that he should remain within the jurisdiction of the Special Court for National Investigation Agency.

  • Elgar Parishad case: Varavara Rao need not surrender until Oct 28, says Bombay High Court

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Thursday said poet-activist Varavara Rao, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, need not surrender before the Taloja prison authorities until October 28.

    The court also said it will hear on October 26 his plea seeking extension of the bail granted to him. Rao, 82, was granted interim bail for six months on medical grounds by the HC on February 22 this year.

    He was scheduled to surrender and return to judicial custody on September 5.

    However, Rao filed an application last month through his lawyer R Sathyanarayanan and senior counsel Anand Grover, seeking extension of the bail. He also sought permission to stay in his hometown Hyderabad while out on bail.

    The NIA, which is conducting a probe into the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, however, opposed Rao’s plea for extension of medical bail and shifting to Hyderabad, saying his medical reports do not indicate that he suffers from any serious ailment.

    In its affidavit filed before the HC last month, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had said the medical reports filed by Rao did not disclose any major ailment, which necessitates him to take treatment in Hyderabad, neither did it form a ground for further extension of the bail.

    The NIA further said in its affidavit that the Taloja prison, located in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, had adequate health care facilities and Rao can be provided with the “best medical facilities” in the prison.

    As part of the stringent conditions imposed on his interim bail by the HC, Rao has been staying with his wife at a rented accommodation in Mumbai.

    At the time when he was granted bail, an ailing Rao was undergoing treatment for multiple ailments at the city-based Nanavati Hospital, a private medical facility, where he had been admitted by the state prison authorities following the HC’s intervention.

    On Thursday, a bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and SV Kotwal extended the time granted to Rao to surrender until October 28, and said it will hear his plea further on October 26.

    In his plea seeking extension of medical bail and modification of bail conditions, Rao had said that as per doctors at the Nanavati Hospital, he is suspected to have a neurological issue, known as cluster headache, that needs further examination.

    Rao further said in the plea that he continues to suffer from multiple ailments, including urinary tract infection with recurrent hyponatremia, suspicion of Parkinsons’ disease, lacunar infarcts in six major lobes of the brain, and some eye problems.

    He said in his plea that if he returned to custody in the Taloja prison, that was not equipped to cater to his medical problems, his health would certainly deteriorate and he might die.

    Thus, he sought that his medical bail be extended for another six months.

    Rao also said in his plea that he found living in Mumbai and accessing health facilities in the city unaffordable, and urged the HC to let him stay in Hyderabad while out in bail.

    The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the ‘Elgar Parishad’ conclave, held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which, the police claimed, triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the city’s outskirts.

    The Pune police had claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists.

  • HC says Varavara Rao need not surrender till September 25; NIA opposes his bail extension plea

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Monday adjourned till September 24 the hearing on the plea for interim bail extension of poet-activist Varavara Rao, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, and said he need not surrender to Taloja prison authorities till September 25.

    The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is conducting a probe into the case, opposed Rao’s plea for the extension of medical bail and to shift to Hyderabad from Mumbai, saying his medical reports did not indicate that he suffers from any serious medical ailment.

    Rao (82), who was granted interim bail on medical grounds in February 22 this year, was scheduled to surrender and return to judicial custody on September 5.

    But, last week, the activist, through lawyer R Sathyanarayanan and senior counsel Anand Grover, filed an application seeking extension of the bail.

    Rao had also sought permission to stay in his hometown Hyderabad while out on bail, saying he found living in Mumbai and accessing health facilities here unaffordable.

    In its affidavit filed before the HC on Monday, the NIA said, “The medical reports filed by the applicant do not disclose any major ailment which necessitates him to take treatment at Hyderabad, neither it forms a ground for further extension (of bail).

    ” The NIA, in its affidavit, further said the Taloja prison, located in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, had adequate health care facilities and Rao can be provided with the”best medical facilities” there.

    The probe agency also said Rao should not be granted bail extension and should not be allowed to shift to Hyderabad as he is accused of committing a “serious” offence.

    “They (Rao) cannot expect the Hon’ble courts to pass orders as per their convenience, especially when the accused has prima facie committed offence of serious nature,” the NIA said in its affidavit.

    As part of the stringent interim bail conditions imposed by the HC, Rao has been staying with his wife in a rented accommodation in Mumbai.

    When he was granted bail, Rao was undergoing treatment for multiple ailments at the city-based private Nanavati Hospital, where was admitted by prison authorities following the HC’s intervention.

    On Monday, Grover told a bench of Justices S S Shinde and N J Jamadar that after being discharged from the Nanavati Hospital in February this year, Rao had developed three additional health ailments.

    NIA’s counsel, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, told the HC that the central agency had filed a “detailed affidavit” opposing Rao’s plea.

    The bench, however, pointed out that it had an administrative meeting to attend and could not hear further arguments in the matter.

    Grover then urged the HC to extend Rao’s date of surrender till the next date of hearing.

    The HC agreed and said Rao needn’t surrender till September 25, but added that he must continue adhering to the bail conditions until then, including staying within the jurisdiction of the Mumbai NIA court.

    In his plea seeking extension of medical bail and modification of bail conditions, Rao said as per doctors of the Nanavati Hospital, he is suspected to have a neurological issue, known as cluster headache, which needs further examination.

    Rao further said in the plea that he continues to suffer from multiple ailments, including urinary tract infection with recurrent hyponatremia, suspicion of Parkinsons’ disease, lacunar infarcts in six major lobes of the brain, and some eye problems.

    The activist contended that if he returned to custody in the Taloja prison, which was not equipped to cater to his medical problems, his health would certainly deteriorate and he might die.

    Thus, he sought that his medical bail be extended for another six months.

    “All medical parameters of the applicant go to show that if he is sent back to judicial custody, it will not be long before his condition reverts back to what it was,” Rao’s plea read.

    Rao also said in his plea that he found living in Mumbai and accessing health facilities here unaffordable, and urged the HC to let him stay in Hyderabad while out in bail.

    The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the ‘Elgar Parishad’ conclave, held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which, the police claimed, triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the city’s outskirts.

    The Pune police had claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists.

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