Senior advocate Anand Grover, representing Gadling, stated that Gadling’s case is “less egregious” than the case of two other co-accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon case— trade unionist and activist Vernon Gonsalves and lawyer and activist Arun Ferreira.
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ON Tuesday, the Supreme Court issued a notice in the bail plea by human rights lawyer and Dalit rights activist Surendra Gadling.
A division Bench of the high court comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M. Trivedi was hearing the bail application filed by Gadling, challenging the Order of the Bombay High Court dated January 31.
Gadling is charged under the Gadchiroli arson case of 2016, where Maoists allegedly set fire to over 80 vehicles transporting iron ore from Surjagarh mines in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district in December 2016.
Gadling is also accused in the Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad Maoist links and criminal conspiracy case along with 14 other activists and academics, and is charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA).
Incarcerated for over four years, Gadling was arrested on January 30, 2019. He is currently lodged in the Taloja Central Jail, awaiting trial.
On January 31 this year, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court had upheld the Order of the sessions court, Gadchiroli, dated March 28, and rejected Gadling’s regular bail.
According to the high court, the setting ablaze of trucks constituted a ‘terrorist act’ under Section 15 of the UAPA; and electronic devices seized in the Bhima Koregaon case showed that Gadling was involved with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and as well as the Surjagarh arson cases.
Today, senior advocate Anand Grover, representing Gadling, stated that Gadling’s case is “less egregious” than the case of two other co-accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon case— trade unionist and activist Vernon Gonsalves and lawyer and activist Arun Ferreira.
On July 28, the division Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia granted regular bail to Gonsalves and Ferriera.
On Justice Bose’s enquiry on the similarity between the cases, Gadling stated that the issue in the present case is different.
Grover submitted that evidence recovered from Gadling in the Bhima Koregaon case is used in the present arson case.
Noting that the matter will subsequently be examined during the course of the hearing, the Bench directed the service of notice to the respondent, the state of Maharashtra.
