The Supreme Court on Friday took note of repeated adjournments and assured early listing of the bail plea filed by advocate Surendra Gadling, who has been in jail for over six years in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria gave the assurance after senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for Gadling, highlighted the prolonged incarceration of his client without bail. “The bail plea has been adjourned 11 times in the Supreme Court,” Grover submitted, prompting the CJI to respond, “We will list it.”
The bail plea was previously deferred on March 27 by a bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal, along with a related plea by activist Jyoti Jagtap. The court had also postponed the hearing on the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) appeal challenging the Bombay High Court’s decision granting bail to activist Mahesh Raut, which was stayed following the agency’s request.
Gadling, a Nagpur-based human rights lawyer, is accused of aiding Maoists and allegedly conspiring with other co-accused, including absconding individuals. He has been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Indian Penal Code (IPC) provisions. The NIA claims that he shared sensitive government information, including maps, with Maoist operatives and urged them to oppose mining operations at Surjagarh, allegedly mobilising locals for the cause.
The Elgar Parishad case stems from a conclave held on December 31, 2017, at Pune’s historic Shaniwarwada, where several activists allegedly delivered provocative speeches that purportedly triggered violence the following day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial.
Gadling is among several individuals arrested in the wide-ranging case, which the NIA alleges involves a larger Maoist conspiracy. Co-accused Jyoti Jagtap, an activist and member of the Kabir Kala Manch (KKM), was denied bail by the Bombay High Court, which observed that the slogans raised during a stage performance at the conclave were “not only aggressive but highly provocative.”
The court further held that there were reasonable grounds to believe the NIA’s allegations that Jagtap had “conspired, attempted, advocated and abetted the commission of a terrorist act.” The NIA claims that KKM acts as a frontal organisation for the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).
Jagtap’s appeal had challenged a special NIA court’s February 2022 order denying her bail. Meanwhile, Mahesh Raut, who was granted bail by the high court, remains in custody as the Supreme Court stays the order pending the NIA’s challenge.
