Bhima Koregaon case: 82-year-old P Varavara Rao second accused to be granted bail

82-year-old activist P Varavara Rao on Wednesday became the second accused to be granted bail concerning the Bhima Koregaon case.

Besides Rao who was granted bail by the Supreme Court, the only accused on bail in the case is an activist and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj.

The Bombay High Court granted relief to Bharadwaj last year.

The Bhima Koregaon case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.

The Pune Police had also claimed that the conclave was organised by people with alleged Maoist links. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) later took over the probe in the matter.

Several activists and academicians have been arrested in the case including Sudhir Dhawale, Shoma Sen, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Gautam Navlakha, and others.

The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, said that the medical condition of Rao, who is currently out on interim bail on health grounds, has not improved to such an extent that the relief granted earlier to him be withdrawn.

Rao, a Telugu poet, was arrested on August 28, 2018, from his Hyderabad residence in the case for which an FIR was lodged by the Pune Police on January 8, 2018, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

On December 1, 2021, the Bombay High Court granted default bail to Bharadwaj, saying that she was entitled to such bail and its denial would be in breach of her fundamental right to life and personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

According to the law, a prosecuting agency cannot detain an accused beyond 90 days without filing the charge sheet. The accused in such cases are entitled to default bail.

The 90 days, however, can be extended by a court if it feels that the prosecution deserves more time to investigate the case.

Bharadwaj was arrested in August 2018 and placed under house arrest. She was taken into custody on October 27, 2018.

A challenge to the high court bail order by the NIA was dismissed by the apex court on December 7, 2021.

Apart from Rao and Bharadwaj, the other accused in the case continues to remain in custody.

Co-accused Jesuit priest Stan Swamy died in a private hospital here on July 5 last year while waiting for medical bail.

Swamy, a tribal rights activist, suffered from several medical ailments including Parkinson's disease.PTI ADS RKS RKS