Bombay HC Grants Bail to Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale in Bhima Koregaon Case
Sahyaja MS (Bar  and  Bench) 08 January 2025
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale, accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence case.
 
A Bench of Justice AS Gadkari and Justice Kamal Khata granted bail citing prolonged incarceration, the non-framing of charges and the fact that over 300 witnesses would have to be examined.
 
Bail was granted subject to bail bonds of Rs1 lakh and also on the condition that the accused shall report before National Investigation Agency (NIA) every Monday.
 
The Court had in July 2024 denied default bail to Wilson, Dhawale and three other accused in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case.
 
Wilson was arrested in July 2018 and is presently in judicial custody for offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
 
The Bhima Koregaon case stems from an event known as Elgar Parishad event organised on 31 December 2017, by a group of persons including activists and retired Supreme Court judge Justice PB Sawant and retired Bombay High Court judge Justice BG Kolse-Patil.
 
The event marked the 200th anniversary of the victory of Dalit soldiers in a battle against a local Brahmin Peshwa ruler.
 
The 2017 event was marred by violent clashes between Dalit and Maratha groups which led to at least one death and injuries to several others. Consequently, three First Information Reports (FIRs) were filed in the case.
 
The FIR of 8 January 2018 registered against Leftist groups with Maoist links was the one vigorously pursued by the authorities. It forms the basis of the entire Bhima Koregaon case which led to arrest of 16 accused and three chargesheets.
 
Comments
jaishirali
4 weeks ago
Without going into the case details, it's shocking that in over 6 years, the accused have not been charged, nor witnesses examined. Wonder how many such citizens are in our jails without trial, truly the wheels of our police and judicial system move at a snail's pace. And yet, one will find courts sitting at midnight just so that some well connected person does not have to go to jail
Meenal Mamdani
1 month ago
Are the justices waking up now to do what should have been done years ago?
Have they woken up to their duties because the Modi/BJP administration has lost its terror and influence on the judiciary because of the nationsl election results?
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