[BREAKING] Bhima Koregaon Row: Bombay High Court Refused To Grant Default Bail Plea Of Five Accused

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The Division Bench, comprising Justices AS Gadkari and Shyam C Chandak, ruled on appeals by the five accused against the 2022 special court orders that had denied them default bail.

[BREAKING] Bhima Koregaon Row: Bombay High Court Denied Default Bail Plea of Five Accused

Mumbai: Today (26th July): The Bombay High Court denied default bail to Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale, and Shoma Sen in the Bhima Koregaon violence case.

The Division Bench, comprising Justices AS Gadkari and Shyam C Chandak, ruled on appeals by the five accused against the 2022 special court orders that had denied them default bail.

The accused were arrested in June 2018 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Gadling challenged a special court’s June 28, 2022, order denying his default bail application, while Raut, Wilson, Dhawale, and Sen contested a similar order from June 26, 2022.

Mahesh Raut had been granted regular bail by the Bombay High Court last year, but the court stayed the order for a week after the NIA sought time to appeal to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court extended the stay further. Raut has been in custody since his arrest in June 2018.

Shoma Sen was granted regular bail by the Supreme Court on April 5.

Background of Bhima-Koregaon case

The Bhima Koregaon case dates back to January 1, 2018, when the bicentenary celebrations of the Bhima Koregaon battle were disrupted by violent clashes between Dalit and Maratha groups, resulting in one death and numerous injuries. Police investigations led to the arrests of several activists accused of having “Maoist links.”

Authorities claimed that these activists funded the Elgar Parishad meeting on December 31, 2017, where inflammatory speeches allegedly incited the violence. Among the arrested were writer and poet Varavara Rao, lawyer and activist Sudha Bhardwaj, academic and activist Vernon Gonsalves, and human rights activists Arun Ferreira and Gautam Navlakha.

Key Events:

January 2, 2018: Pune police file an FIR against Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote, accusing them of instigating violence in Shaniwar Wadi.
February 9, 2018: Maharashtra government forms a two-member commission to investigate the violence.
June 6, 2018: Pune police arrest Dalit activist Sudhir Dhawale, Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen, activist Mahesh Raut, and Kerala native Rona Wilson.
August 28, 2018: Maharashtra Police arrest Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Sudha Bharadwaj, and Gautam Navlakha.
September 5, 2018: Maharashtra government claims in the Supreme Court that the activists have links to the banned CPI (Maoist) and were involved in a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
September 28, 2018: Supreme Court refuses to interfere with the arrests or appoint a special investigation team (SIT). Justice DY Chandrachud dissents, stressing the importance of upholding dissenting voices.
January 14, 2019: Supreme Court declines to quash the FIR against Anand Teltumbde related to the Elgar Parishad event.
January 22, 2020: Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra orders a fresh probe into the case.
January 24, 2020: Investigation transferred from Pune Police to the NIA, causing political controversy.
October 7, 2020: NIA files its first chargesheet, alleging a strategy behind the violence against Dalits in January 2018.
March 21, 2021: NIA special court denies Father Stan Swamy’s bail application on medical grounds.
April 20, 2021: Washington Post reveals evidence of activists’ computers being compromised, raising questions about the legitimacy of the arrests.
July 5, 2021: Father Stan Swamy dies in custody, sparking outrage.
May 5, 2022: Varavara Rao granted regular bail on medical grounds by the Supreme Court.
November 19, 2022: Gautam Navlakha released from Taloja Central Prison and placed under house arrest due to health issues.
July 1, 2023: Maharashtra government grants another extension to the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry.
July 28, 2023: Supreme Court grants bail to Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira after over five years in custody.