The accused in the case were arrested in June and August last year and have been lodged in Yerwada jail for months.The bail applications of six of the nine accused arrested in connection with the Elgaar Parishad case will have to be argued in court again as the judge who has been hearing the case, Kishor D Vadane, has been reassigned.
A special court for cases under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) is currently hearing the bail applications of the six accused — Sudhir Dhawale, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Surendra Gadling, Rona Wilson and P Varavara Rao, who were among the activists arrested over their alleged links with the Communist Party of India – Maoist, a banned outfit. Additional Sessions Judge Kishor D Vadane, who was hearing the case till now, has been reassigned after a promotion. Additional Sessions Judge Ravindra M Pande, who replaced Judge Vadane, will hear the bail pleas again.
Advocate Rohan Nahar, defence lawyer for some of the accused in the case, said, “The bail pleas that are pending before the honourable court will now be re-argued.” The bail applications of the other accused — Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves — are pending before the Bombay High Court. Sen and Bharadwaj were produced before the court on Tuesday.
The accused in the case were arrested in June and August last year and have been lodged in Yerwada jail for months.
Pune City Police has so far booked 23 persons in connection with the case. The accused are prominent activists and lawyers, and all of them have been charged under the UAPA.
