The Bombay High Court allowed activist Ramesh Gaichor three-day temporary bail to visit his 76-year-old father after over four years in custody. The Court said, “the appellant, since the date of arrest, was not allowed to meet his father for more than 4 years.”
Mumbai: On August 26, the Bombay High Court granted three-day temporary bail to activist Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor, one of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case of 2018. The order was passed by a Division Bench of Justice AS Gadkari and Justice Rajesh Patil.
The relief was given so that Gaichor could visit his 76-year-old ailing father. The Court noted that since his arrest more than four years ago, Gaichor has not been allowed to meet his father.
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His father had been admitted to Global Hospital in Yerwada, Pune, on June 26 for age-related health issues and was discharged the following day.
The judges observed:
“Perusal of the records indicates that the appellant’s father is 76 years old and was admitted to Global Hospital, Yerwada, Pune on 26/6/2025 and was discharged on 27/6/2025. The appellant, since the date of arrest, was not allowed to meet his father for more than 4 years. In view thereof, we are permitting the appellant to be released on temporary bail for three days to enable him to meet his father.”
According to the order, Gaichor will be released between September 9 and September 11. He will have to deposit a cash security of Rs 25,000 with the central prison authorities. The Court also clarified that he would not be required to bear any escort charges.
Earlier, on July 1, a special NIA court in Mumbai had refused interim bail to Gaichor. At that time, he had sought a two-week bail to visit his father, but the lower court rejected the application, saying that the medical documents submitted did not indicate a serious or urgent condition.
Following this rejection, Gaichor approached the Bombay High Court. Senior Advocate Mihir Desai, who represented Gaichor, highlighted that the accused had not seen his father in more than four years and stressed that the lower court failed to consider the humanitarian angle of his request.
Desai also told the court that Gaichor was only seeking a short-term relief and would follow all conditions set by the court.
Advocate Sandesh Patil, appearing for the National Investigation Agency (NIA), opposed the plea. He argued that a substantive bail application was already pending before the Bombay High Court.
However, he admitted that the discharge papers of Gaichor’s father appeared genuine and left it to the Bench to decide.
Gaichor is one of the 16 activists arrested in connection with the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case. The case relates to allegations that provocative speeches were delivered during the Elgar Parishad event held in Pune on December 31, 2017.
Police claim that these speeches triggered violence the following day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial.
Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor was arrested in September 2020 and has been in custody since then.
Case Title:
Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor v National Investigation Agency.
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