Elgar Parishad case: Bombay High Court grants interim bail to Varavara Rao

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New Delhi: The Bombay High Court on Monday granted interim bail to poet Varavara Rao who is being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Elgar Parishad case. Rao was granted bail on medical grounds for a period of six months.

The 82-year-old is an accused in the Bhima-Koregaon violence which occurred after the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017. He has been in custody since August 28, 2018 awaiting trial.

Rao is currently undergoing treatment in the Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai. He was taken to the hospital after he complained of difficulties in breathing. He was admitted following the high court's intervention.

A bench of Justices S S Shinde and Manish Pitale directed that once Rao is discharged from the hospital, he should be immediately released on bail.

The HC said if it did not grant Rao medical bail, it would be abdicating its duty to protect the principles of human rights, and a citizen's fundamental rights to life and health.

While allowing bail, the court imposed strict conditions requiring him to stay within the jurisdiction of the Mumbai NIA court. Rao will have to submit his passport before the NIA court and has been forbidden to contact any of the co-accused in the case.

Rao is required to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of the same amount.