Elgar Parishad case: Bombay HC grants bail to Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor

The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to activists Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor in the highprofile Elgar Parishad case observing that they were entitled to relief on the ground of parity since several coaccused have already been released in similar circumstances reported news agency PTIBench says denying bail would be unjustifiedA division bench of the Bombay High Court headed by Justice AS Gadkari took note of the fact that many accused persons in the case have secured bail owing to prolonged incarceration and the unlikelihood of the trial commencing in the near future The court held that denying the same benefit to Gorkhe and Gaichor would be unjustifiedActivists arrested in 2020 lodged in Taloja jailThe two activists were arrested in September 2020 and have been lodged at the Taloja Central Prison since then They are accused of being active members of the banned CPI Maoist and allegedly having links with Maoist activities connected to the Elgar Parishad conclave reported PTIParity principle cited in bail orderIn its order the bench observed that continued detention of the appellants without a foreseeable trial timeline would violate the principle of parity especially when similarly placed accused have already been granted bail ldquoOn the ground of parity the two appellants also deserve to be released on bailrdquo the court said reported PTIMonthly reporting to NIA among bail conditionsAs part of the bail conditions Gorkhe and Gaichor have been directed to execute a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh each They are also required to report to the National Investigation Agency NIA office once every month and comply with other standard conditions imposed by the court reported PTICase linked to 2017 Pune conclave and KoregaonBhima violenceThe Elgar Parishad case stems from an event held in Pune on December 31 2017 where allegedly provocative speeches were delivered at a conclave attended by various activists lawyers and academics According to the prosecution these speeches led to violence at KoregaonBhima on the outskirts of Pune on January 1 2018 during celebrations marking the bicentenary of the historic Bhima Koregaon battleProbe later transferred to NIA under UAPAThe Pune police which initially investigated the case claimed that the conclave was backed by Maoist groups and that the violence was part of a larger conspiracy The probe was later transferred to the National Investigation Agency which continued the investigation and filed charges under stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act UAPAMost accused already out on bailAt least 16 individuals were arrested in connection with the case including prominent civil rights activists scholars and lawyers Over time most of them have been granted bail by various courts primarily on grounds of long incarceration and delays in trial proceedings Currently all accused except Surendra Gadling have been released on bailCase drew attention after Father Stan Swamyrsquos deathThe case also drew national and international attention following the death of Father Stan Swamy an 84yearold priest and tribal rights activist who passed away in judicial custody in July 2021 while awaiting trialSeveral wellknown activists named in chargesheetOther accused named in the case include Varavara Rao Sudha Bharadwaj Anand Teltumbde Vernon Gonsalves Arun Ferreira Shoma Sen Gautam Navlakha Sudhir Dhawale Rona Wilson Jyoti Jagtao and Mahesh RautWith inputs from PTI