On July 28, activists and Elgar Parishad members Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira were granted bail by the Supreme Court in the Bhima Koregaon case. A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia pronounced the said judgment, stating that while the charges against the two accused are serious, that alone cannot be the reason for denying bail.
“Allegations are serious but that does not mean bail cannot be granted. While forming our opinion of granting bail, we noted that he was earlier convicted of offences under 1967 Act. Hence, we propose to impose appropriate conditions while on bail. We set aside impugned order and release the appellant on bail,” the Court directed, as provided by the LiveLaw.
Justice Bose also took into consideration that Gonsalves and Ferreira have been in custody for more than five years. Gonsalves and Ferreira have been lodged in Mumbai’s Taloja jail since 2018.
As conditions for the bail, the court ordered that Gonsalves and Ferreira will not be allowed to leave Maharashtra till the trial in the case is over. The two activists will also have to surrender their passports. They have also been directed to use one mobile each and let the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the case, know their addresses, according to Live Law.
“They can have only one mobile connection during the period,” the court said added. “Their mobile phones should be charged round the clock and the location must be kept on and shared with the NIA [National Investigation Agency] officer for live-tracking. They shall also report to the investigating officer once a week,” as provided by the LiveLaw.
The bench further stated that if there is any breach of conditions, it will be open to the prosecution to seek cancellation of bail. Furthermore, if any attempt is made to threaten witnesses, the prosecution can move court to cancel bail, the Supreme Court added.
Notably, Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia had reserved the judgment in the current case on March 3, 2023.
Background of the case:
Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira were among the sixteen activists, academics and lawyers who had been arrested in relation to the caste violence that broke out on January 1, 2018, in Bhima Koregaon village near Pune. The police had purported that the accused persons were involved in organising the Elgar Parishad event on December 31, 2017, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battle of Bhima Koregaon. The police had also alleged that inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave had reportedly triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.
They have been jailed under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act since the past five years, reportedly without any reliable evidence. The sixteen arrested persons had also been accused of conspiring to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi and of having links with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).
In May 2022, Gonsalves and Ferreira, along with six others, had moved the Supreme Court, filing pleas against Bombay High Court’s December 2021 judgment refusing them default bail. Notably, on December 1, 2021, eight accused persons in the case had been refused bail by the High Court, while another co-accused Sudha Bharadwaj was granted bail. The High Court had distinguished Bharadwaj’s plea from the other eight and noted that Bharadwaj’s application for default bail was pending when an application was made by the Pune Police seeking an extension of time to file the charge sheet.
The eight of whom were denied bail had once again petitioned the Bombay High Court contending that there was an error in the December 2021 judgment and consequently, prayed that they be granted bail. However, on May 4, 2022, the High Court had rejected that plea too, stating that there was no factual error in the December 2021 judgment as claimed.
This had led to the current appeal for bail before the Supreme Court.
Notably, in August 2022, the Supreme Court asked the special NIA court to decide on framing of charges against Gonsalves within 3 months, while refusing to grant any interim relief at the time. Gonsalves’ bail plea was, however, kept pending before the top court. The Court had directed the special court to segregate Gonsalves’ trial from that of the other accused who are absconding.
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