Lekha G
Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Stan Swamy, arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist case, has approached the Bombay High Court for bail on health grounds.
The 83-year-old in his appeal, filed in the High Court on Monday, challenged an order passed by a Sessions Court refusing him bail.
The Sessions Court, refusing bail, noted factors like old age and sickness would not go in favour of the accused considering that there was a prima facie case against him for hatching a conspiracy to overthrow the government.
In his petition, Swamy has said that he apprehends contracting coronavirus as over 40 inmates of the Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai, where he has been lodged, have been tested positive for the virus.
The case relates to inflammatory speeches delivered at the ‘Elgar Parishad’ conclave, held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which 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 people having links with Maoists.
Swamy’s appeal in the High Court will come up for hearing in time.