“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.

Related:

Bail order cannot be cryptic and casual, needs to be backed by reasons considering vital aspects: Supreme Court

INDIA versus Bharat’ or ‘India that is Bharat’?

Bhima Koregaon case: 5 years on, charges not framed despite repeat extensions

Bhima Koregaon case: Prof Anand Teltumbde granted bail on merits by Bom HC

Bhima Koregaon case: Justice S Ravindra Bhat recuses himself from hearing Gautam Navlakha’s plea seeking house arrest

Bhima Koregaon case: SC directs NIA court to decide on framing charges within three months

Bhima Koregaon case: SC grants Varavara Rao bail on medical grounds

Bhima Koregaon case: Supreme Court extends Varavara Rao’s interim bail until further orders

Bhima Koregaon case: Bombay HC denies bail to the three accused

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Arun Ferreira alleged in the court that he was beaten up during custodial interrogation. He said that on November 4 around 4 pm, during the interrogation he was punched about 8-10 times by the Investigating Officer (I.O.) Shivaji Pawar. The IO also hit him in the eye. While beating up Ferriera, IO Pawar was asking him questions about Indian Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL). On November 5, he was taken to the Sassoon hospital. Injuries and contusion near eye were noted by the doctors at Sassoon hospital while conducting his medical examination.
 
Stretching to the very last day of the temporary relief of house arrest granted by the Supreme Court vide order dated September 28, 2018 in Romila Thapar & Ors. v. Union of India, the Sessions court in Pune had rejected the bail applications for Advocate Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves on October 26, who were arrested allegedly in the Bhima Koregaon case on August 28, 2018. The Court also rejected the application for extension of house arrest which was due to expire on 26 October 2018.
 
During the last hearing, on October 27, although the prosecution had pointed to some ‘electronic evidence’ to keep Ferreira and Gonsalves under custody, the Defence counsel had argued that their arrest couldn’t be lawfully correct as they had remained in cusyody for more than 30 days while they were under house arrest. Defence Counsel had also argued that it would be a contempt of court to arrest them before midnight on October 26 as they had been granted relief till October 26.

Afterwards the court sent Ferreira and Gonsalves for ten days police custody till November 6, i.e. today.

The Maharashtra had police raided and arrested several prominent human rights activists in India on August 28. Following this, a writ petition was filed in the SC by eminent Indians such as historian Romila Thapar, economists Prabhat Patnaik and Devaki Jain among others. The SC disposed off the writ petition saying that the activists could avail relief from lower courts as per the law. All five activists-lawyers were under house arrest for a time period until October 26, a time period extended by the Supreme Court allowing them time to seek bail or other remedies in appropriate courts.
 
More details are awaited
 

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The Pune Police on Friday took into custody activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira hours after a Pune Sessions court rejected their bail pleas and applications seeking an extension of their house arrests for seven days. The period of their house arrests, as ruled by the Supreme Court, ended on Friday.

The review petition filed by RomilaThapar and others was heard today and the Order is still being awaited.

Gonsalves is being taken to MIDC police station in Mumbai’s Andheri and later will be taken to Pune.

Ferreira and Gonsalves, along with activists Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao and Gautam Navlakha, were arrested on August 28 in connection with their alleged involvement in an event that preceded the violence at BhimaKoregaon near Pune on January 1. On Thursday, a Hyderabad court had extended the house arrest of Varavara Rao. The Delhi High Court had ordered Navlakha’s release from house arrest on October 1.

The Supreme Court had last month extended the house arrest of all five activists by four weeks. Five other activists – ShomaSen, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale – were arrested in June as part of the same investigation. They are also accused of having links to the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist).
 
 

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