Bombay HC allows default bail plea of activist Sudha Bharadwaj in Bhima Koregaon Case

Bombay High Court on Wednesday allowed the default bail plea of activist Sudha Bharadwaj and directed her to approach Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court for further proceedings in the Bhima Koregaon Case.

A bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar said that Bharadwaj's bail conditions will be decided by the Special NIA Court in Mumbai.

The High Court ordered that she should be produced before the Special NIA Court on December 8.

Simultaneously, in the same case, the court rejected the default bail plea of eight accused Surendra Gadling, Sudhir Dhawale, Shoma Sen, Rona Wilson, Mahesh Raut, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira.

Bharadwaj was among the five activists, including Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira and Gautam Navlakha, who were arrested from various cities in 2018 for their alleged involvement in the Elgaar Parishad event near Pune.

On January 1, 2018, violence at Bhima-Koregaon village in Pune district left one dead and several others injured including 10 policemen.

Violence erupted after some people, reportedly with saffron flags, pelted stones at cars heading towards the village for the commemoration of 200 years of Bhima-Koregaon war on New Year's Day.

The police had filed 58 cases against 162 people.

( With inputs from ANI )