The Crossbill Team
The Supreme Court on Friday (April 5) granted bail to dalit and women’s rights activist Shoma Sen in the Bhima Koregaon case. The bail comes after Sen had spent 6 years in jail.
Sen, former Nagpur University professor of English, was arrested in June 2018 by Pune Police, along with human rights lawyer and Dalit rights activist Surendra Gadling, activist, actor, and publisher Sudhir Dhawale, activist Mahesh Raut, and activist and researcher Rona Wilson, for their alleged involvement in the Bhima Koregaon violence.
Sen was booked under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for alleged links with the Communist Party of India (Maoist).
A bench of Justices Anirudhha Bose and Augustine George Masih held that the restriction for grant of bail as per Section 43D(5) of the UAPA would not apply in the case of Sen as the National Investigating Agency (NIA) did not oppose her bail.
The bench took it took into account Sen’s prolonged incarceration, her health conditions, the delay in the commencement of trial and the nature of the accusations.
62 year old activist is the sixth among the 16 accused in the Bhima Koregaon or Elgar Parishad case. The other activists, academics, lawyers such as Sudha Bhardwaj, Anand Teltumbde, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferriera, and Varavara Rao had bail earlier on medical grounds.
While granting bail to Sen, the Apex court laid down certain conditions, such as she would not leave Maharashtra, surrender her passport, inform NIA about her residence and mobile number that should be active.
Senior advocate Anand Grover, the Counsel for Sen, had denied all the charges in the court along with her alleged Maoist links, stating that there was lack of evidence for all allegations. He also pointed out Professor’s ill heath and her long stint in jail without any trial.
Earlier, Sen had approached a Pune sessions court and the Bombay High Court for bail, which had rejected her plea.
Sen, former Nagpur University professor of English, was arrested in June 2018 by Pune Police, along with human rights lawyer and Dalit rights activist Surendra Gadling, activist, actor, and publisher Sudhir Dhawale, activist Mahesh Raut, and activist and researcher Rona Wilson, for their alleged involvement in the Bhima Koregaon violence.
Sen was booked under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for alleged links with the Communist Party of India (Maoist).
A bench of Justices Anirudhha Bose and Augustine George Masih held that the restriction for grant of bail as per Section 43D(5) of the UAPA would not apply in the case of Sen as the National Investigating Agency (NIA) did not oppose her bail.
The bench took it took into account Sen’s prolonged incarceration, her health conditions, the delay in the commencement of trial and the nature of the accusations.
62 year old activist is the sixth among the 16 accused in the Bhima Koregaon or Elgar Parishad case. The other activists, academics, lawyers such as Sudha Bhardwaj, Anand Teltumbde, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferriera, and Varavara Rao had bail earlier on medical grounds.
While granting bail to Sen, the Apex court laid down certain conditions, such as she would not leave Maharashtra, surrender her passport, inform NIA about her residence and mobile number that should be active.
Senior advocate Anand Grover, the Counsel for Sen, had denied all the charges in the court along with her alleged Maoist links, stating that there was lack of evidence for all allegations. He also pointed out Professor’s ill heath and her long stint in jail without any trial.
Earlier, Sen had approached a Pune sessions court and the Bombay High Court for bail, which had rejected her plea.
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