Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case: SC grants interim bail to activist Jyoti Jagtap

The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted interim bail to activist Jyoti Jagtap, who was arrested in 2020 in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.

A Bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma passed the order after senior advocate Aparna Bhat, appearing for Jagtap, said she has been in custody for over five years. Advocate Karishma Maria also appeared for Jagtap.

The high court had said Jagtap was an active member of the Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) group, which during its stage play at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017 gave not only aggressive, but also highly provocative slogans.

"We are of the considered opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing the allegations or accusations of the NIA against the appellant (Jagtap) having conspired, attempted, advocated and abetted the commission of a terrorist act as prima facie true," the high court had said.

According to the NIA, the KKM is a front organisation of the Communist Party of India (Maoist).

The high court had dismissed the appeal filed by the activist-cum-singer challenging a February 2022 order of a special court refusing her bail.

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

Jagtap, accused of singing and raising provocative slogans at the conclave along with other KKM members, was arrested in September 2020 and has been lodged in jail since then.

According to the investigators, provocative speeches that were allegedly made at the conclave triggered violence at Koregaon-Bhima on the outskirts of Pune on January 1, 2018.