Elgar Parishad case: SC grants interim bail to Mahesh Raut on medical grounds

The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted interim bail to Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case accused Mahesh Raut on medical grounds.

A Bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma was hearing Raut's petition challenging his incarceration despite being granted bail by the Bombay High Court.

The top court noted the submission of senior advocate C U Singh, appearing for Raut, that the accused was suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.

"The applicant is seeking interim bail on medical grounds coupled with the fact that he was actually granted bail (by Bombay High Court), we are inclined to grant medical bail for a period of six weeks," the bench said.

The high court allowed Raut's bail plea but stayed its own order for a week on the request of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The top court subsequently extended the stay on his release in the case.

Raut's counsel had earlier said the activist was suffering from rheumatoid arthritis and required specialised medical care unavailable in prison or at JJ Hospital, where he has been examined.

Raut is among several activists and cultural workers accused in the Elgar Parishad Bhima Koregaon case.

The Elgar Parishad conclave was held in December 2017 at Shaniwarwada, an 18th-century palace-fort in the heart of Pune.

Investigators alleged that provocative speeches delivered at the event instigated the violence at Koregaon-Bhima on January 1, 2018.

Another accused, cultural activist Sagar Gorkhe alias Jagtap, was arrested in September 2020 on allegations of raising provocative slogans at the conclave along with other Kabir Kala Manch members, and has remained in jail since then.

The Bench is also likely to hear the bail plea of another activist Jyoti Jagtap who was arrested in 2020 in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.