2018 Elgar case: Prolonged jail stay sans trial violation of Article 21: Bombay High Court

Mumbai: Prolonged incarceration without trial amounts to infringement of the right to life under the Constitution, the Bombay High Court has said while urging a special court to expedite the trial in the 2018 Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.

The high court has also said the special court shall frame charges in nine months.

Framing of charges is the first step towards start of the trial.

A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Kamal Khata on January 8 granted bail to researcher Rona Wilson and activist Sudhir Dhawale in the case, considering their long incarceration and unlikelihood of the trial being completed in the near future.

The high court noted that Wilson and Dhawale have already spent more than six years in jail pre-trial.

In its detailed order, made available on Tuesday, the bench said it was a settled and recognised principle of law that the prolonged incarceration of the accused without trial amounts to infringement or violation of Article 21 of the Constitution.

"That, long period of incarceration and unlikelihood of the trial being completed in the near future necessitates consequential release of the undertrial on bail," the bench said.

"We request the Special Judge, (NIA Act) to expedite the stage of framing of charge and as far as possible the trial itself. The stage of framing of charge be completed within a period of 9 months from today," the HC said.

The court had directed Wilson and Dhawale to submit a surety of Rs 1 lakh each.

With the order copy now available, the duo can approach the special court to complete their bail formalities after which they will be released from the Taloja prison in neighbouring Navi Mumbai.

The high court has directed Wilson and Dhawale to appear before the special NIA court during the trial, surrender their passports, and not to leave the city until the trial is over.

Ten out of 16 persons arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case, including Wilson and Dhawale, have secured bail so far.

The Pune police in 2018 registered the case, alleging the accused delivered provocative speeches at the Elgar Parishad conclave on December 31, 2017, triggering violence at Koregaon-Bhima in the district the next day.

According to the police, the conclave was backed by Maoists.

The other accused who have been granted bail include Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Anand Teltumbde, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Shoma Sen, Gautam Navlakha and Mahesh Raut.

Raut, however, remained in jail after the NIA challenged his bail in the Supreme Court.

The special NIA court on Tuesday granted him interim bail for 18 days to enable him to appear for an LLB exam.

Stan Swamy, one of the accused, died in 2021 while in prison.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had taken over the probe into the case from the Pune police and filed a chargesheet. The special court is yet to frame charges against the accused.

Wilson, arrested in June 2018 from his home in Delhi, was described by the probe agencies as one of the top alleged brass of urban Maoists. Dhawale was accused of being an active member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).

The NIA chargesheet, submitted in August 2021, said Wilson and other accused were active members of the banned terrorist organisation who wanted to establish a 'janata sarkar' via revolution supported by a commitment to protracted armed struggle to undermine and seize power from the state.

The accused were charged with more than a dozen offences, including promoting enmity between different groups, doing acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony, waging war against the government, and several sections under the stringent anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).