The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to activists Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor, both accused in the Elgar Parishad–Maoist links case, citing parity with other co-accused who have already been granted similar relief.
A bench led by Justice A.S. Gadkari observed that several accused in the case had been released on bail due to prolonged incarceration and the improbability of the trial commencing soon. “Hence on the ground of parity, the two appellants too deserve to be released on bail,” the court stated in its order.
Gorkhe and Gaichor were arrested in September 2020 and have remained in judicial custody at Taloja prison for over three years. They are accused of being active members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).
The High Court directed the duo to furnish a bail bond of ₹1 lakh each. As part of their bail conditions, they are required to report to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) office once every month.
The case stems from the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017. According to investigating authorities, speeches made at the event were allegedly provocative and led to caste-based violence at Bhima Koregaon the next day. Initially probed by the Pune Police, the investigation was later transferred to the NIA, which invoked provisions under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against the accused.
The NIA has claimed that the conclave was backed by banned Maoist groups and that the accused were part of a larger conspiracy to destabilize the government.
With this order, all but one accused — Surendra Gadling — have now been granted bail in the case. Father Stan Swamy, another accused and a noted tribal rights activist, passed away in judicial custody in July 2021 while awaiting trial.
Among the others released on bail are poet Varavara Rao, lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, academic Anand Teltumbde, activists Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Shoma Sen, Gautam Navlakha, Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Jyoti Jagtao, and Mahesh Raut.
Despite the serious allegations, the slow pace of the trial and long pre-trial detentions have repeatedly been flagged by the courts while granting bail, raising concerns over procedural delays in handling cases under stringent anti-terror laws.
