Shashwati Chowdhury
Published on: August 10, 2022 at 19:56 IST
Varavara Rao, accused in the Bhima Koregaon case who was arrested in 2018, was granted bail by the Supreme Court on Wednesday on medical grounds.
The Bench of Justices UU Lalit and S Ravindra Bhat ordered,
“Matter has not even been taken up for framing of charges and the discharge applications by accused and others are also pending. The medical condition of Rao has not improved over period of time so that bail granted is withdrawn. We thus find P Varavara Rao is entitled to bail on medical grounds. We thus delete the para limiting the bail to a period of time.”
The Court made it clear that this order will have no impact on the merits of the cases brought by Rao or the other accused, nevertheless. Rao was told not to leave Mumbai’s jurisdiction.
Senior Advocate Anand Grover, who appeared on behalf of Rao, contended that no charges have been brought against his client and that no documents have been provided to him. Rao has Parkinson’s disease and a history of blood clotting, and he also mentioned that it will take minimum ten years for the trial to be completed.
However, additional solicitor general SV Raju said Rao was attempting to prolong the trial by filing a discharge application. The ASG stated that Rao sought bail on medical grounds but never visits the hospital when the Court asked about whether Rao has ever violated the conditions of his bail. The ASG responded that the trial will be completed in 1.5 years in response to the Court’s question about how long the trial would last.
An accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon incident, Telugu artist Varavara Rao, petitioned the Supreme Court in June for a permanent bail on medical grounds. Through his attorney Nupur Kumar, Rao had challenged a Bombay High Court judgement on April 13 that had rejected his bail plea.
Along with rejecting Rao’s bail plea, the Bombay High Court Bench of SB Shukre and GA Sanap also dismissed his application to remain in Telangana throughout the course of the trial. On account of his physical condition, the Court had extended an earlier order granting him temporary bail by an additional three months.
The temporary bail granted by the Bombay High Court had been extended by the Supreme Court on July 19.