Justices MM Sundresh and Aravind Kumar decided this while adjourning Jagtap’s bail plea after listening to her counsel, Senior Advocates Mihir Desai and Aparna Bhat.
NEW DELHI: On Thursday (22nd Aug), the Supreme Court announced it will hear the bail pleas of Jyoti Jagtap and Mahesh Raut together in the Bhima Koregaon case.
READ ALSO: [Bhima Koregaon Case] SC Extended Bail Plea of Urban Naxal Jyoti Jagtap Till July
Justices MM Sundresh and Aravind Kumar decided this while adjourning Jagtap’s bail plea after listening to her counsel, Senior Advocates Mihir Desai and Aparna Bhat.
Counsel for the State of Maharashtra and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) noted that the Supreme Court had extended the stay on Raut’s bail since September 2023.
Justice Sundresh commented,
“We will hear both matters together and set a date. You can mention the matter, and we will decide one way or the other.”
Jagtap, accused of being a member of the banned Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), was arrested on September 8, 2020, and charged on October 9, 2020. She initially sought bail from the High Court after a special NIA court denied her application on February 14, 2022. Her appeal was rejected by the Bombay High Court in October 2022, leading to the current Supreme Court appeal.
Raut had been granted bail by the Bombay High Court last year, but the court stayed the order for a week pending an appeal by the NIA. The Supreme Court subsequently extended the stay. Raut had previously been denied bail by a special NIA court in November 2021.
The NIA claims Raut recruited students into the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and received Rs 5 lakh for it. The Supreme Court had sought responses from the Maharashtra government and NIA in May of the previous year. Raut has been in jail since June 2018.
Background of the Bhima Koregaon Violence Case
The Bhima Koregaon case after 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.
The draft chargesheet also mentioned Father Stan Swamy, who has since passed away, leading to a cessation of proceedings against him. Several other accused individuals remain absconding.
Case Title: Jyoti Jagtap v. National Investigation Agency and anr
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