Khushi Gupta
Published on: April 20, 2022 at 16:00 IST
Bombay High Court has recused herself from hearing a bunch of Petitions about the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links Case, the Third Judge of the High Court to do so this year.
The Accused in the Case include 16 scholars and activists, including the late Jesuit priest Stan Swamy.
Justice SS Shinde and Justice PB Varale of the Bombay High Court had recused themselves from hearing the Pleas arising from the Elgar Parishad case.
Justice Sadhana Jadhav did not assign any reasons for her decision to recuse herself. Generally, Judges refrain from hearing a matter if they have any personal interests, associations, or stakes in a matter, or, if they have Legally represented any of the Accused persons in the past.
The Petitioners’ Counsels will now have to move an application before the High Court, Chief Justice Dipankar Datta seeking that a Special Bench is assigned once again to hear the Elgar matters.
The Case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the ‘Elgar Parishad’ conclave, held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon Bhima war memorial located on the city’s outskirts.
The Pune Police claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists.