Activist Sudha Bharadwaj Gets Court Approval To Live In Thane

Lawyer and activist Sudha Bharadwaj who was granted bail by Bombay High Court in December 2020 has been allowed to live in Thane. Bharadwaj had filed a plea before a trial court recently on this matter.

One of the bail conditions set by the trial court for Bharadwaj was that she cannot reside outside the jurisdiction of the court which is in Mumbai city. Bharadwaj in her plea had asked for permission to shift to her friend's place in Thane since she found accommodation expensive in Mumbai.

Sudha Bharadwaj Thane Plea:

Bharadwaj's friend reportedly submitted an affidavit in court after which special judge Dinesh E Kothilikar granted her plea on Thursday. The court has allowed her to stay at her friend's place in Thane outside of Mumbai and she is also directed to report to the local police station as part of the bail conditions. The court also noted that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is at liberty to verify the address.

Suggested Reading: Sudha Bharadwaj Walks Out Of Jail After Three Years

Sudha Bharadwaj got arrested in 2018 and had been serving time in Byculla prison in Mumbai. She was released on bail last month by the Bombay High Court. The NIA had still submitted a plea against the bail order but the Supreme Court rejected it and said that they saw no reason to interfere with the High Court's order. Bharadwaj was one of the 16 people who were arrested in connection with the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case and is the first one to get default bail.

Her release was celebrated by many individuals on social media. A video of her waving to the media outside the Mumbai prison was circulating on the internet. She was asked to furnish a bond of Rs 50,000 set by the special NIA court and was also asked to submit her passport. Bharadwaj has also been asked to refrain speaking to the media about the case she was arrested in.

Bhima Koregaon Case: 

Following allegedly inflammatory speeches on January 1, 2018, violence broke at the Elgar Parishad event in Pune. The event had the attendance of many activist as it was to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima from the 19th century.