New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned hearing on the bail plea of advocate Surendra Gadling and activist Jyoti Jagtap arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal also deferred hearing on the petition filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) challenging the bail granted to activist Mahesh Raut.
He was given bail by the Bombay High Court but the order was stayed after the NIA sought a stay on the verdict to challenge it before the apex court.
Senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for Gadling, refuted that the accused was delaying the trial and sought time to produce the records. Senior advocate Mihir Desai, appearing for Jagtap and Raut, requested the court to post the matter at the earliest.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the NIA, submitted that the Bombay High Court's order granting bail to Raut was "absolutely perverse." The top court said it would take up all the matters together and adjourned the hearing.
Gadling was accused of providing aid to the Maoists and allegedly conspiring with various co-accused, including the ones absconding in the case.
He was booked under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, and the IPC and the prosecution claimed Gadling provided secret information about government activities and maps of certain areas to underground Maoist rebels.
He reportedly asked Maoists to oppose the operation of Surjagarh mines and instigated several locals to join the movement.
Gadling also faced the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case relating to the alleged provocative speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017. The police claimed the speeches triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial in Pune district.
The high court had said Jagtap was an active member of the Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) group, which during its stage play at the “Elgar Parishad” conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, gave not only “aggressive, but highly provocative slogans”.
"We are of the considered opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing the allegations or accusations of the NIA against the appellant (Jagtap) having conspired, attempted, advocated and abetted the commission of a terrorist act as prima facie true," the court had said.
According to the NIA, the KKM is a front organisation of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). The high court had dismissed the appeal filed by the activist-cum-singer challenging a February 2022 order of a special court refusing her bail. The 2017 Elgar Parishad conclave was held at Shaniwarwada, an 18th-century palace fort located in the heart of Pune city.
