Of the 16 accused in Elgar Parishad case, 1 dead, 2 out on bails and 13 lodged in jails

Mumbai: With Supreme Court stipulating that charges in Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case be framed within the next three months, the focus has shifted now to the status the accused.

In the case that is being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), of the total 16 arrested accused, Jesuit priest Stan Swamy died at a private hospital here last year during judicial custody, while Telugu poet Varavara Rao is currently out on medical bail.

Only one accused - Sudha Bharadwaj - is out on regular bail, which was granted to her by the Bombay High Court in December last year, while 13 other accused are currently lodged in different jails.

The accused in the case have been charged for waging a war against the nation, being active members of the banned terror outfit CPI (Maoist), criminal conspiracy and indulging in acts with an intent to strike terror in the minds of people using explosive substances.

The NIA in its draft charges sought to charge the accused under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The court is yet to frame charges in the case, only after which trial would commence.

The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave, held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon- Bhima war memorial located on the city's outskirts.

Following are those accused who are currently in jail:

Activist Sudhir Dhawale, activist Rona Wilson, lawyer Surendra Gadling, professor Shoma Sen, activist Mahesh Raut, activist and lawyer Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, activist and scholar Anand Teltumbde, seventy-year-old activist Gautam Navlakha, Delhi University associate professor Hany Babu, singer and anti-caste activists Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor and member of the Kabir Kala Manch Jyoti Jagtap.

Activist Arun Ferreira has approached the Bombay High Court seeking a default bail on parity with co-accused Sudha Bharadwaj, who was granted relief in December 2021.

Ferreira's petition came up for hearing on Friday before a division bench of Justices RM Dere and Sharmila Deshmukh.