The Supreme Court raised concerns over Surendra Gadling’s six-and-a-half-year custody without trial, directing a quick decision on pending applications. Gadling argued prolonged delays, missing electronic evidence, and unequal treatment as other accused are already on bail.
The Supreme Court of India today heard the bail plea of Surendra Gadling, who is an accused in the Elgar Parishad–Maoist links case.
The matter, titled Surendra Pundalik Gadling v. State of Maharashtra (Crl.A. No. 3742/2023), came before a Bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi. As the hearing began, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju informed the Court,
“We’ve filed our reply affidavit.”
Senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for Gadling, argued strongly that his client had already spent nearly seven years in jail without the trial starting.
He told the Court,
“I’ve been in jail for six and a half years. Their claims are completely false.”
He pointed out that the prosecution itself had caused major delays, and added,
“The record shows the prosecution caused the delay. They insisted the trial shouldn’t start until the Bhima Koregaon case ended, then withdrew that request when it reached this Court.”
Grover further highlighted problems in the case management, telling the Bench,
“I haven’t been produced even once this year. There are 17 accused, not six. The chargesheet is against all 17. They should have split the trial but haven’t. The main evidence is electronic material from the Bhima Koregaon case which they still haven’t given me. Supplying all of it will take ages. There isn’t even a permanent public prosecutor.”
He also mentioned that Gadling had been granted interim bail earlier and complied with all conditions, saying,
“If granted bail, I’ll push to expedite the trial. I’ve been on interim bail three times without any security issues. I’m a lawyer. I’ve spent 6 years and 10 months in jail there’s nothing substantial against me. The electronic evidence wasn’t collected properly.”
ASG Raju responded briefly and said,
“All this was already argued on merits.”
The Bench expressed concern about Gadling’s prolonged incarceration and the lack of progress in the trial. The judges remarked,
“He has been in custody over six years. You can’t refuse to start trial because Bhima Koregaon is pending. If the evidence is electronic and not supplied, how can it be used? How long can he remain inside?”
In reply, the ASG stated that the prosecution was trying to bring the necessary records before the trial court, saying,
“We’ve applied to summon the Bhima Koregaon records. He hasn’t replied. Please direct the trial judge to decide the application in two days.”
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The Court then asked both sides to complete their filings and noted,
“File your reply. We’ll keep this matter pending.”
Grover pleaded for early relief, pointing out that all other accused were on bail, and said,
“Everyone else is on bail only I’m not. I’ll file the reply tomorrow.”
The Bench concluded the hearing with the direction,
“File the reply we’ll list the matter in January. Trial court should decide the application by January 10.”
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