| (The Editor's Pick is a new newsletter from The Hindu that provides a snapshot of the most important stories from today's edition of our newspaper, along with a note from our top editors on why we chose to give prominence to these stories.) The Supreme Court has told activist Sudha Bharadwaj that she can seek bail on the merits of her case rather than on medical grounds. Ms. Bharadwaj is currently in jail facing charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in the Elgar Parishad case, being investigated by the NIA. She had been denied bail on medical grounds by the Mumbai High Court, Pune Sessions Court and NIA court. The charges against Ms. Bharadwaj are that she associated with banned Maoist outfits in organising the Elgar Parishad on December 31, 2017. The next day, violence erupted at the event celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Dalit Mahar victory against the Peshawa kingdom in Bhima Koregaon. The initial FIR alleged that provocative speeches at the Elgar Parishad event had triggered the violence. Ms. Bharadwaj, poet Varavara Rao and several others were arrested and have been in jail for the last two years. The allegations in the case have expanded to include a Maoist plot to overthrow the Central government. The Pune police investigation in this case was handed over to the NIA by the Centre in January this year after the new Shiv Sena-led government in Maharashtra announced it would review the case. The Supreme Court had in 2018 declined to intervene in the case against the activists. Now the merits of the case are set to be put before the court in the bail application. This development is what makes this story important. | 
Post a Comment