'Solely on medical grounds': SC grants bail to Varavara Rao in Bhima Koregaon case

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court granted bail to 84-year-old P Varavara Rao. Rao was discharged on medical grounds after being booked in the Bhima Koregaon case for allegedly having ties to illegal Maoist organisations under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

The order was placed in the Special Leave Petition filed by Varavara challenging the Bombay High Court's rejection of his request for permanent bail on medical grounds. The court's bench, composed of Justices UU Lalit, Aniruddha Bose, and Sudhandhu Dhulia, made the decision.

The bench took into consideration Rao's age, his health issues, and the two and a half years he had in actual custody. The bench further highlighted that although a charge sheet had been filed, the case's trial had not yet started and that the charges themselves had not yet been set.

READ | Shameful to extract price of 'Tiranga' by snatching poor's food: BJP's Varun Gandhi slams Centre

Rao was also told not to leave the Greater Mumbai region without the Special NIA Court's express permission, not to abuse his freedom, and not to contact any witnesses or attempt to sway the outcome of the probe. The bench made it clear that the bail was granted exclusively on medical reasons and should not be interpreted as a judgement on the case's merits.

On August 28, 2018, Rao was detained in connection with the case. In November 2018, they took him to Mumbai's Taloja prison. He was admitted to the hospital in 2020 as a result of worsening medical issues. He was granted 6-month medical bail by the High Court in February 2021. The medical bail was occasionally extended.

However, on April 13 of this year, the High Court declined to give him long-term bail and instead added another three months to the temporary medical bail. After three months, he was asked to report to prison. While taking into account his SLP (Special Leave Petition), the Supreme Court extended the provisional bail period till further instructions.

READ | Bihar political crisis: Know why JD-U’s Nitish Kumar took oath as CM 7 times before today