The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted default bail to lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case/ However, the Court rejected the bail applications of the 8 other accused Sudhir Dawale, Dr P Varavara Rao, Rona Wilson, Advocate Surendra Gadling, Professor Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira. They were arrested between June – August 2018.
The Court has directed Sudha Bharadwaj to be produced before the Special NIA Court on December 8 to decide the conditions of bail. Full copy of the order is awaited.
A division bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar had reserved Bharadwaj’s bail plea for judgement on August 4 and the criminal application by eight others on September 1.
Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh for NIA sought a stay on the operation and implementation of the order inview of two recent Supreme Court judgements. However, the court refused relief saying it has already considered the orders in its judgement.
Bharadwaj’s plea also alleged that the judge was not authorised as a “special judge” to take cognizance of the supplementary chargesheet filed by the Pune police in February 2019. Chaudhry referred to a recent Supreme Court judgment and said that special courts alone have exclusive jurisdiction to try UAPA offences.
Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni for state government and Pune police opposed the argument and said Bharadwaj’s counsel referred to selective portions of the Supreme Court verdict favourable to his case and not the judgment in its entirety as the case before the SC was different from Bharadwaj’s case.
The state government further said although Bharadwaj was booked under UAPA, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act stipulated the need of a special judge only at the time of trial, when the case is being probed by the central agency, and not during pre-trial proceedings.
Bharadwaj’s plea also alleged that the judge was not authorised as a “special judge” to take cognizance of the supplementary chargesheet filed by the Pune police in February 2019. Chaudhry referred to a recent Supreme Court judgment and said that special courts alone have exclusive jurisdiction to try UAPA offences.
Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni for state government and Pune police opposed the argument and said Bharadwaj’s counsel referred to selective portions of the Supreme Court verdict favourable to his case and not the judgment in its entirety as the case before the SC was different from Bharadwaj’s case.
The state government further said although Bharadwaj was booked under UAPA, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act stipulated the need of a special judge only at the time of trial, when the case is being probed by the central agency, and not during pre-trial proceedings.
ASG Singh for NIA opposed the pleas by eight accused by supplementing arguments made by Pune police and said that the cognizance of the chargesheet taken by sessions court has no relevance for default bail plea.
Sudha Bharadwaj: Defender of the People, Nuisance to the State
Sudha grew up to illustrious parents and spent the first part of her life as an American citizen. In the next 30 years of her life, she worked tirelessly in Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha (CMM) as a trade unionist and eventually as a lawyer after the CMM, hamstrung in their legal battles by unscrupulous lawyers, found in her the courage and integrity needed to challenge powerful opponents in the courtrooms.
She founded Janhit, giving rigorous legal aid to several industrial workers, villages fighting acquisition and mining, Adivasi communities fighting for forest rights, environmental cases, and PIL litigation. Janhit filed cases against powerful industrial houses such as Jindal, Vedanta, BALCO, Lafarge Holcim, D.B. Power, Vandana Vidyut, SECL, Bhilai Steel Plant, Monnet Steel, Adani, Hindalco, Grasim, Ultratech and others.
Sudha was arrested from her Faridabad home which she was sharing with her daughter, Maaysha. During this time, she was a Visiting Professor at the National Law University Delhi, taking Seminar Courses on tribal rights, land acquisition, and the Fifth and Sixth Schedules.
