The Supreme Court on Monday fixed September 15 for hearing the bail plea of Elgar Parishad–Bhima Koregaon case accused Mahesh Raut, who has sought release on medical grounds citing deteriorating health.
A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma was hearing Raut’s plea challenging his continued incarceration despite being granted bail by the Bombay High Court. The High Court had allowed his bail plea but, on the request of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), stayed its own order for a week. The Supreme Court later extended the stay, keeping Raut in custody.
Raut’s counsel submitted that the activist, who has spent nearly seven years in jail, is suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and requires specialised medical care not available in prison or at JJ Hospital, where he has been examined.
“If the prison hospital can file a status report, and we can take him for a medical examination… JJ Hospital doesn’t have the facilities for this,” the lawyer argued.
The bench observed that if the ailment required continuous treatment, there should be “no difficulty” in considering medical bail. Justice Sundresh noted that government doctors often “play it safe” and avoid high-risk treatment. “If a serious treatment is required, they will not touch it because if anything happens then they will be responsible. So let’s just find out, no problem,” he said.
The bench is also likely to hear the bail plea of Jyoti Jagtap, another activist arrested in 2020 in the Elgar Parishad–Maoist links case. Similarly, cultural activist Sagar Gorkhe alias Jagtap, arrested in September 2020 for allegedly raising provocative slogans with Kabir Kala Manch members, remains in jail.
