Elgar Case: DU Professor Hany Babu Denies Bail Plea Withdrawal in SC

Delhi University professor Hany Babu withdrew his bail plea in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case from the Supreme Court. The court had earlier sought a response from the government and the NIA on his plea against a Bombay High Court order rejecting his bail. Babu, arrested in 2020 and currently imprisoned, is accused of being a co-conspirator in promoting Maoist activities. The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune in 2017, which allegedly triggered violence near a war memorial the next day.

Delhi University's associate professor Hany Babu on Friday withdrew from the Supreme Court his plea seeking bail in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.

A bench of Justices Bela Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal took note of the submission of of the lawyer appearing for Babu, who said five other co-accused have been granted bail in the case.

''The counsel for the petitioner states that there is a change in the circumstance and would not like to press the present petition and approach the high court,'' the bench noted.

The top court had earlier sought a response from the Maharashtra government and the NIA on his plea against an order of the Bombay High Court which rejected his bail plea.

The high court on September 19, 2022 had rejected the bail plea filed by Babu.

The NIA, which is conducting a probe into the case, has accused Babu of being a co-conspirator in propagating Maoist activities and ideology on the instructions of leaders of the banned CPI (Maoist) organisation.

Babu was arrested in July 2020 in the case and is currently lodged at the Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai.

The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave, held in Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon Bhima war memorial located on the city's outskirts.

One person was killed and several others were injured in the violence.

The case, in which over a dozen activists and academicians had been named accused, was initially probed by the Pune Police and later taken over by the NIA. Babu approached the HC in June this year, challenging an order of the special NIA court here which rejected his bail plea earlier this year.

Babu, in his plea, had said the special court had ''erred'' in holding that there existed prima facie incriminating material against him.

The NIA had opposed the bail plea, arguing Babu actively participated in activities to promote Naxalism and wanted to overthrow the government.

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