Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 6

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday requested the Supreme Court to grant urgent hearing to its petition challenging a Bombay High Court order granting default bail to activist-lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case.

On behalf of the NIA, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a Bench led by the Chief Justice of India NV Ramana that since bail order would become operational on December 8, the petition should be taken up before it.

“We will see,” the CJI told Mehta

The Bombay High Court had on December 1 allowed default bail to Bharadwaj in the Bhima Koregaon case on the ground that the extension of time for investigation and detention under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and Section the Code of Criminal Procedure had not been given by a competent court.

The Bhima Koregaon case relates to December 31, 2017, Elgar Parishad event organised by a group of persons, including activists and retired judges, on the 200th anniversary of the victory of Dalit soldiers in a battle against a local Brahmin Peshwa ruler. There were violent clashes between Dalit and Maratha groups. Three FIRs were filed in the case after one person died and several others got injured.