Court Decision on New Material
The Supreme Court will hear Elgar Parishad activist Jyoti Jagtap’s petition on August 22. Jagtap, arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case, has challenged the Bombay High Court’s rejection of her bail plea. In the last hearing, the Supreme Court stated it would not accept new material at this stage of the proceedings.
Background of the Petition
Jyoti Jagtap filed the petition in response to the Bombay High Court’s decision in 2022, which denied her bail. The High Court had upheld the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) case against Jagtap, describing her as a part of a larger conspiracy involving the Communist Party of India (Maoist). The High Court cited Jagtap’s alleged involvement in a significant conspiracy as the reason for denying bail.
Supreme Court’s Stance
On May 4, 2023, the Supreme Court had requested responses from the Maharashtra government and the NIA regarding Jagtap’s petition. The court noted that Jagtap was an active member of the Kabir Kala Manch group, which reportedly raised provocative slogans during a performance at the Elgar Parishad conference in Pune on December 31, 2017. The Supreme Court indicated that, at first glance, there was no issue with accepting the NIA’s allegations of conspiracy, attempt, advocacy, and incitement to terrorist acts against Jagtap.
Context of the Case
The violence in Bhima Koregaon erupted after an inflammatory speech at the Elgar Parishad event in Pune in 2017. Authorities linked the event organizers to Naxalites, leading to a case against activist Gautam Navlakha in January 2018. Navlakha, along with Arun Ferreira, Varavara Rao, Varnan Gonsalves, and Sudha Bhardwaj, were accused in connection with the violence.
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