Dhawale, Wilson Granted Bail in Bhima-Koregaon Elgar Parishad Case After 6 Years

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted bail to researcher Rona Wilson and activist Sudhir Dhawale in the Bhima-Koregaon Elgar Parishad case. Both of them have been in jail for over six years. While granting them bail, the high court held that the trial in the case is unlikely to conclude in near future as the prosecution has cited more than 300 witnesses in the case.

A division bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Kamal Khata said that they were not going into the merits of the case but had taken note of the long incarceration suffered by the accused. “They have been in jail since 2018, and even the charges in the case are yet to be framed. The prosecution has cited over 300 witnesses and thus there is no possibility of the trial to conclude in the near future,” the judges observed.

The bench made it clear to the prosecution that if it hears the matter on merits, it will make certain observations. However, Additional Solicitor General Devang Vyas assisted by Special Prosecutor Sandesh Patil and advocate Chintan Shah, urged the bench not to make any observations.

The case pertains to provocative speeches allegedly delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, triggering violence at Koregaon-Bhima in Pune district the next day. The Pune police had claimed the conclave was backed by the Maoists. The NIA later took over the probe.

Wilson and Dhawale are among the 16 people arrested in the case. Before Wislon and Dhawale, eight other accused persons including Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Anand Teltumbde, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Shoma Sen, Gautam Navlakha and Mahesh Raut have been granted bail.

Dhawale was one of the first to be arrested in the case and is accused of being an active member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). Wilson was arrested in June 2018 from his home in Delhi. He was described by the probe agencies as one of the top brass of urban Maoists.

Wilson and Dhawale were directed to submit a surety of Rs one lakh each, and appear before the special NIA court for the trial hearing. They shall surrender their passports and not leave the city until the trial is over, the HC said.