Today, On 23rd June, In the Bhima Koregaon case, the Supreme Court questioned the delay in filing a bail appeal by an accused in custody for 8 years, saying, “Some urgency must be shown” as the May 2 order was already passed.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday raised concerns about the delay from an accused in filing a bail appeal. This individual has been in custody for the past eight years and had previously approached the Supreme Court after other co-accused were granted bail by the High Court.
Supreme Court refused to fast-track the hearing of a request made by former Delhi University professor Hany Babu, who is an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.
The lawyer representing the accused stated,
“I have been in custody for 8 years. I had approached this court for bail. Then, HC had granted bail to the other co-accused. Then we sought permission to approach HC.”
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A vacation bench, consisting of Justices KV Viswanathan and NK Singh, ordered the matter to be scheduled for hearing once the court resumes after its summer recess, stating they would not consider the application during the limited working days of the vacation.
Responding to this, Justice KV Vishwanathan expressed concern over the delay and remarked,
“But we were fully open from May 2 to May 23. Some urgency must be shown. It was a May 2 order. You should have appealed in time.”
The lawyer then tried to explain the reason behind the delay and said,
“We had to wait for the certified copy etc.”
The court, however, stressed on the importance of acting promptly in such matters, especially when liberty is at stake.
Babu was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in July 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) due to alleged Maoist connections linked to the Bhima Koregaon violence.
His bail plea was denied by the Bombay High Court in September 2022. In May 2024, he withdrew his bail petition from the Supreme Court, citing a change in circumstances and intending to apply to the High Court again.
However, the High Court indicated that the Supreme Court’s order did not explicitly allow him to approach the lower court, leading to this current request for clarification. The Supreme Court’s decision to not hear the matter urgently means it will only be addressed after the summer recess concludes.
The Bhima Koregaon case stems from an event organized by leftist and Urban Naxal groups in Pune on December 31, 2017. The event allegedly aimed to incite Dalits and other communities, leading to widespread violence in Bhima Koregaon and other parts of Maharashtra.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has implicated 15 individuals in this case, charging them with various offenses, including plotting terrorist activities and raising funds for sophisticated weapons.
The accused in the Bhima Koregaon case face multiple charges under various legal provisions. For instance, academician Anand Teltumbde is accused of tampering with evidence.
Other individuals charged by the NIA include Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, P. Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Sudha Bharadwaj, Gautam Navlakha, Hany Babu, Ramesh Gaichor, Jyoti Jagtap, and Surendra Gorkhe.