Bhima Koregaon case: SC grants bail to activists Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira

Bhima Koregaon Elgar Parishad case: The Supreme Court of India on Friday granted bail to activists and Elgar Parishad members Vernon Gonsalves, and Arun Ferreira in the Bhima Koregaon case. The activists were arrested in August 2018 on charges of inciting violence, under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). 

The Bombay High Court had earlier rejected their bail plea in in December 2021. Following this Gonsalves and Vernon approached the Supreme Court of India. 

The apex court cited the fact that the activists had been in custody for five years for granting them bail. 

However, the bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia said Gonsalves and Ferreira shall not leave Maharashtra and surrender their passports to the police.

It also directed the two activists to use one mobile each and let the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the case, know their addresses.

In August 2022, the apex court had also granted bail to Dr P Varavara rao, another accused in the Bhima Koregaon Elgar Parishad case, citing medical grounds. 

What is the Bhima Koregaon Elgar Parishad case?

The case pertains to the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on 31 December, 2017, which according to the Pune police was funded by Maoists. Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, along with 14 others, have been accused by the National Investigation Agency.

The 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.

Five people, allegedly having close Maoist links, were arrested in June 2018 from Mumbai, Nagpur, and Delhi in connection with Elgar Parishad event.

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

A Jesuit priest and indegenous community activist, Stan Swamy, also the oldest Indian citizen to have been accused to be a terrorist under the UAPA, had also been arrested in this case. He died of complication at the age of 84 on 5 July 2021 bringing renewed focus on the UAPA and its place in India’s democracy.

Ferreira, Gonsalves, and Varavara Rao had been arrested and taken to Pune between October and November 2018.