The Bombay High Court granted bail to five men, associated with the Hindutva right-wing organizations “Santan Sanstha” and “Hindu Janjagruti Samiti” arrested in year 2018 for alleged conspiracy to explode bombs at the then ongoing Sunburn festival in Pune. All the five accused men were arrested by the Anti-Terrorism Squad in Mumbai in 2018.
The five men are: Sujit Rangaswami, Amit Baddi, Ganesh Miskin, Shrikant Pangarkar and Bharat Kurane. The High Court granted them bail on July 30, and the order was made public on August 5.
A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande observed that the alleged conspiracy to bomb the festival was never executed. The bench further added that “We have noted that all the accused persons are arrested in the year 2018 and as on date, though the trial has commenced, only two witnesses have been examined and third witness is in the witness box, when the prosecution has cited the list of 417 witnesses,”.
The prime allegation, even as per the chargesheet was that the accused persons being active members of the Sanatan Sanstha and Hindu Janjagruti Samiti, hatched a conspiracy to execute petrol and crude bomb blasts in the then ongoing Sunburn festival in Pune city.
It was further alleged that they were influenced by the philosophy of creation of ‘Hindu Rashtra’ and keeping this objective in mind, had conspired to eliminate all activities opposing the Hindu religion and all entities, which were preaching or writing or propounding against their religion. It was claimed that they were active in disruption in the exhibition of movies, and conduct of programmes, which according to them, in any manner brought any disrepute to the pride of the Hindu religion.
The chargesheet further discloses that the persons opposing the deep-rooted practices adopted in Hindu culture through their writings like Dr Narendra Dabholkar from ‘Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti’, Comrade Govind Pansare as well as Prof MM Kalburgi and senior journalist Gauri Lankesh, who were done to death by the ‘motorcycle riders.’
The judges, however, opined that such statements in the chargesheet, were insufficient to establish the charge of conspiracy against the Appellants.
The judges further emphasised the fact that the ‘speedy trial’ has received a recognition of the fundamental right of a person facing accusations and being subjected to trial.
The accused persons were charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Explosive Substances Act, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Arms Act, and the Maharashtra Police Act.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad has alleged in its chargesheet that the accused persons were influenced by a book titled Kshatra Dharma Sadhana, which is published by the Sanatan Sanstha and calls on Hindus to establish a Hindu Rashtra or Hindu nation.
The notorious and aggressive Hindu Janjagruti Samiti (HJS) and its ally Sanatan Sanstha who’s activists (and masterminds) have alleged to be linked to the accused of rationalist murders of Narendra Dabholkar (2013), Govind Pansare (2015), MM Kalburgi (2015) and Gauri Lankesh (2017) presently hosts an international meet to hail and promote the idea of Hindu Rashtra (India as a Hindutva Theocracy).
The Order of the Court can be read here:
Related:
Memo seeking preventive action against Hindu Janajagruti Samiti event sent to authorities