Elgar Parishad case: KKM activist Sagar Gorkhe gets bail for law exam

Previously, Gorkhe had been granted temporary bail for the law entrance exam and for his brother’s wedding

MUMBAI: A special NIA (National Investigation Agency) court on Friday granted temporary bail to Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) activist Sagar Gorkhe, lodged at Taloja central jail in Navi Mumbai in connection with the Elgar Parishad/ Bhima Koregaon case, to prepare and appear for his first semester law examination scheduled between December 23, 2024 and January 1, 2025. Gorkhe was granted bail from December 11 till January 3 next year on a personal bond of ₹50,000 along with a surety of the same amount.

Elgar Parishad case: KKM activist Sagar Gorkhe gets bail for law exam

The court was hearing Gorkhe’s plea for temporary bail filed through advocate Hari Rajguru on December 5, which said that the jail did not provide a conducive environment to peacefully study and prepare for the exam.

“Jail conditions are stressful and although the sanctioned strength of inmates in the applicant’s barracks is 18, more than 40 inmates are lodged in each barrack”, the plea noted.

Gorkhe’s advocate requested the court to release him on temporary bail on December 11, before the commencement of the examination, so he could prepare for it in a peaceful environment. He would provide the detailed address in Aurangabad where he would stay as well as mobile numbers where he would be available and would return to Taloja jail on January 3, 2025, a day after his last paper, the advocate noted.

Special sessions judge Chakor S Baviskar allowed Gorkhe’s plea and directed him deposit his passport, provide his cell phone number and address to jail authorities, and not ‘misuse the liberty’.

Previously, Gorkhe had been granted temporary bail for the law entrance exam and for his brother’s wedding. Police claim that he and 15 other activists and intellectuals accused in the Elgar Parishad case delivered inflammatory speeches during a conclave held in Pune’s Shaniwarwada on December 31, 2017, which sparked violence near the Bhima-Koregaon war memorial on the outskirts of Pune the following day, resulting in a death.