Elgar Parishad case: Bombay HC orders release of Hany Babu over prolonged incarceration

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to former Delhi University associate professor Hany Babu, citing his prolonged incarceration of more than five years without trial. The court rejected the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) request to stay the order, noting both the delay and the unlikelihood of the trial concluding soon.

A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and R R Bhonsale said Babu should be released on a personal bond of Rs one lakh, with sureties of the same amount. The bench noted that charges have not been framed and that a discharge application remains pending before the trial court.

Babu’s counsel Yug Mohit Chaudhary argued that the long delay justified bail, pointing out that eight co-accused had already secured bail from the Supreme Court or the High Court under similar circumstances.

The NIA urged the court to stay the order to allow time for an appeal to the Supreme Court. The court rejected the request, stressing the time Babu had already spent behind bars.

The agency has accused Babu of being a co-conspirator who allegedly propagated Maoist ideology under the direction of CPI (Maoist) leaders. Babu, whose full name is Hany Babu Musaliyarveettil Tharayil and a resident of Gautam Buddha Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested in July 2020 and has been lodged in Taloja prison since.

What does the case involve?

The Elgar Parishad case stems from an event held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on 31 December 2017, where provocative speeches allegedly promoted caste enmity and triggered violence at Koregaon-Bhima the following day. The Pune police first registered a case in 2018 before it was transferred to the NIA.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has mentioned Babu’s arrest in its report, claiming he was not given adequate medical care in custody.

Sixteen people — including lawyers, activists, academics and cultural workers — have been arrested in the Elgar Parishad case. These include:

• Father Stan Swamy, who died in custody in 2021 while awaiting trial
• Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Anand Teltumbde, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Shoma Sen, Gautam Navlakha, Sudhir Dhawale, and Rona Wilson, who are out on bail
• Jyoti Jagtap, granted interim bail by the Supreme Court
• Mahesh Raut, released on medical bail, later extended

Those still awaiting regular bail include lawyer Surendra Gadling and cultural activists Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor.