HC to hear Rao, Gadling pleas on July 23

Nagpur: The Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court on Monday adjourned the hearing on pleas filed by Maoist sympathizers Vara Vara Rao and lawyer Surendra Gadling, after their counsels indicated that a lawyer from Mumbai would plead for them.
The HC then adjourned hearing till July 23 and kept it in the afternoon session at 2.30pm.
Both the petitioners, through counsel Nihalsingh Rathod, had challenged additional month’s time granted to Gadchiroli police for filing the charge sheet against them. The Gadchiroli police had taken their custody in an arson case of 2016 where around 80 vehicles were set on fire at Surjagarh mining site.
The petitioners contended that Gadchiroli police had failed to file a charge sheet within stipulated period of 90 days. However, the cops were granted additional time of 30 days to file charge sheet, which is contrary to the law, they contended.
They stressed both of them are entitled for a bail after the charge sheet wasn’t filed in 90 days, but the cops are putting them under illegal detention.
Assistant government pleader Neeraj Jawade had filed a reply on the petitioners’ contentions, denying all charges labelled by them against the police.
During the last hearing on July 10, the HC had issued notices to the respondent — Hedri Police Armed Outpost’s sub-divisional police office (SDPO), coming under the Maoist-infested district.