Elgaar Parishad case: SC extends Bombay HC stay on Mahesh Raut bail till Nov 1

On September 21, a division bench of Justice A.S. Gadkari and Justice Sharmila Deshmukh of the High Court had granted bail to Raut, who has been in jail since June 6, 2018 for his alleged links with Maoists.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that the order granting bail to the Bhima Koregaon-Elgaar Parishad conspiracy case accused Mahesh Raut will not be given effect till November 1.

A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Dipankar Datta deferred hearing the matter after an adjournment was sought by Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, who appeared on behalf of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

In an earlier hearing, the top court had extended the stay already granted by the Bombay High Court till October 5, the next date of listing.

“The stay already granted by the High Court of Judicature At Bombay on operation of the impugned order shall continue until the next date of hearing,” it had ordered.

On September 21, a division bench of Justice A.S. Gadkari and Justice Sharmila Deshmukh of the High Court had granted bail to Raut, who has been in jail since June 6, 2018 for his alleged links with Maoists.

However, the High Court deferred implementation of its order for a week after the anti-terror agency sought a stay for filing a special leave petition in the Supreme Court.

In July, the top court had granted bail to two other accused — Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, who were in jail since August 2018. The case pertains to inciting people and giving provocative speeches during the Elgar Parishad organised by the activists of Kabir Kala Manch at Shaniwarwada in Maharashtra’s Pune on December 31, 2017, which allegedly promoted enmity between various caste groups and led to violence resulting in loss of life and property and a state-wide agitation in Maharashtra.

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