Anti-Terror Agency Challenges Sudha Bharadwaj's Bail In Supreme Court

Sudha Bharadwaj bail challenged: A day after activist Sudha Bharadwaj was granted default bail by the Bombay High Court in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad caste violence case, an anti-terror agency has challenged it in Supreme Court.

A division bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar had granted the bail to her. They also issued directions for the production of the activist before a special National Investigation Agency court on December 8. The objective is to discuss the terms of her bail. The judges had reserved their verdict on Bharadwaj’s bail plea after a hearing on August 4.

There are eight more accused in the case - Sudhir Dawale, Professor Shoma Sen, Dr P Varavara Rao, Rona Wilson, Advocate Surendra Gadling, Arun Ferriera, Mahesh Raut and Vernon Gonsalves. They haven't been granted bail yet.

According to LiveLaw, Bharadwaj’s lawyers had argued during previous hearings that the activist and the other co-accused had been booked for offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which is a ‘scheduled offence’ under the NIA Act.

However, the case was assigned to Pune’s Judge KD Vadane who was not notified as a Special Court under the NIA Act. Following this, the bench had observed that the HC’s records were consistent with the documents produced by Bharadwaj’s team, using Right to Information regarding Vadane. Read more about it here.

Who is Sudha Bharadwaj?

Sudha Bharadwaj is a lawyer and activist. She is the general secretary of the People’s Union Civil Liberties in Chhattisgarh.

In 2018, an incident of caste-based violence occurred on January 1 and she was arrested in connection with that. On the day of the incident, violent clashes had erupted during the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima-Koregaon. It was alleged that Bharadwaj was associated with Elgar Parishad. It was a gathering that took place on the eve of the anniversary on December 31, 2017.

She was then booked under sections 505,117,153a and 120 of the Indian Penal Code along with relevant sections under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

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