Bombay HC grants bail to Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale in Elgar Parishad case

Rona Wilson and activist Sudhir Dhawale were arrested in connection with the case in 2018.

Updated on: Jan 8, 2025, 19:20:12 IST

By HT News Desk

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The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted bail to researcher Rona Wilson and activist Sudhir Dhawale in the Elgar Parishad case, PTI reported.

Rona Wilson was arrested in 2018. (Pratham Gokhale/Hindustan Times)

Both, Wilson and Dhawale, were arrested in connection with the case in 2018.

The bail was granted after the division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Kamal Khata took note of their long incarceration and the fact that the trial is not likely to be completed any time soon, according to PTI.

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Defence lawyers Mihir Desai and Sudeep Pasbola had argued that both the accused were languishing in jail since 2018 and even the charges are yet to be framed by the special court.

Wilson and Dhawale were directed to submit a surety of ₹one lakh each and appear before the special NIA court for the trial hearing.

In its bail order, the high court said that it was not dealing with the merits of the case at this stage.

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The bench noted that there are over 300 witnesses in the case, and hence it is not possible for the trial to be concluded shortly.

In December, a special NIA court rejected the temporary bail plea filed by activist Rona Wilson, who is lodged at the Taloja Central Jail.

Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case

The case pertains to provocative speeches allegedly delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, triggering violence at Koregaon-Bhima in Pune district the next day.

The Pune police had claimed the conclave was backed by the Maoists. The National Investigation Agency later took over the probe. Of the 16 persons arrested in the case, many are now out on bail.

Rona Wilson was arrested in June 2018 from his home in Delhi. He was described by the probe agencies as one of the top brass of urban Maoists.

Sudhir Dhawale was one of the first to be arrested, accused of being an active member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).

(Inputs from PTI)

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