A special court in this city has ordered the release of activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, who are charged in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case. This comes one week after the Supreme Court granted them bail. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Special Court issued their release order on Friday, according to a lawyer involved in the case, and the accused are likely to leave the jail by today evening since their court-mandated bail formalities have been completed. The defendants are being detained in Navi Mumbai’s adjoining Taloja jail.
On July 28, the top court granted bail to the two suspects, saying that there is no evidence of Gonsalves and Ferreira’s real participation in any terrorist act from any third-party communications. They were granted bail by the SC panel made up of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia, who noted that the mere possession of certain literature that could be used to spread violent acts would not fall under the purview of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. We believe they have established a case for bail given the nearly five years that have passed. Despite the fact that the accusations are serious, the bench ruled that they should be granted bail nonetheless.
In addition, the top court ordered them to turn in their passports and refrain from leaving Maharashtra without the consent of the trial court. Additionally, it instructed the two activists to use a separate mobile device to provide their addresses to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is looking into the situation. Additionally, it gave the NIA permission to ask for their bail to be revoked in the event that any of the bail terms are broken. The campaigners had appealed to the highest court after the Bombay High Court denied their bail requests.
The accused were ordered to post a personal recognisance (PR) bond of 50,000 apiece, and the special NIA court placed further restrictions on their release, including a request that they refrain from speaking to the media about the case. Additionally, it instructed them to show up for court appearances unless they were excused. For their suspected involvement in the case, Mr. Gonsalves and Mr. Ferreira were detained in August 2018 and have since been in judicial detention. Up to 16 activists were detained in connection with the case; three of them are currently free on bail. While poet Varavara Rao and scholar-activist Anand Teltumbde are currently free on bail due to their health, lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj is freed on normal bail.
The Supreme Court has ordered that activist and additional accused Gautam Navlakha be placed under home arrest at the moment. According to the prosecution, Mr. Gonsalves and Mr. Ferreira actively participated in the organization’s cadre recruiting and training and Ferreira also managed its financial resources. The Elgar Parishad meeting that took place in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the Pune police claim was funded by Maoists, is the subject of the case.
Police had claimed that the incendiary comments made there caused rioting at the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial in Pune the following day. The NIA later took up the investigation.
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