HC rejects Varavara Rao's plea for permanent medical bail, extends his temporary bail by 3 months
Mumbai(PTI): The Bombay High Court on Wednesday rejected poet-activist Varavara Rao's plea seeking permanent medical bail in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
A bench of Justices S B Shukre and G A Sanap, however, extended the time for the 83-year-old activist to surrender before the Taloja prison authorities by three months, to enable him to undergo a cataract surgery.
The bench dismissed Rao's application seeking that he be permitted to stay in Hyderabad instead of Mumbai, while out on bail.
The HC also said it had found substance in several claims made by Rao's counsel Anand Grover on the lack of medical facilities in the Taloja prison, located in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, and poor hygiene conditions there.
The court, therefore, directed Maharashtra Inspector General of prisons to submit a "candid" report on the state of such facilities at the "Taloja prison in particular," and also in all prisons across the state.
The HC directed the IG to submit the report to the court by April 30 this year.
"The IG prisons must ensure that henceforth, there remain no grounds for inmates to raise grievances on inadequate health facilities in prisons across the state," the court said.
It also directed the special NIA court to expedite the trial in the Elgar Parishad case, and to conduct the trial proceedings on a day-to-day basis.
Rao, who has been out of prison on temporary medical bail since February last year, had filed three pleas.
He had sought that his medical bail be extended by another six months, an application seeking modification of his temporary medical bail conditions - he sought that while out on bail, he be permitted to stay in his home town Hyderabad in Telangana, and a plea that he be granted permanent bail on health grounds till the conclusion of the case trial.
His counsel had told the HC that Rao, who has early signs of Parkinson's disease, was living in Mumbai's Bandra area in a conference facility rented out to him by some Christain missionaries.
The NIA's counsel, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, had opposed all of Rao's prayers and urged the HC to send him back to prison.
Singh had argued that hundreds of other inmates, who were senior citizens and suffered from health ailments, continued to remain in prison and were provided with medical care in prison hospital.
The case pertains to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which, the police claimed, triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.
The Pune police had also claimed the conclave was organised by people with alleged Maoist links.
Later, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the probe into the case.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Paper leak mafia thriving under BJP's double-engine governments: Bhagwant Mann
Shimla (PTI): Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday slammed the Centre over the alleged NEET paper leak and said that such incidents are surfacing in regions governed by the BJP's 'double-engine' and 'triple-engine' governments.
He said the leak and cancellation of the National Eligibility cum Entrance test (NEET) 2026 examination is a major failure on the part of the Union government.
"This is not the first time that a paper leak has happened. Such incidents have surfaced in 2017, 2021, 2024, and now even in 2026 and every time, a CBI inquiry is initiated, arrests are made, yet after a short while, the accused are released on bail," he said.
Mann, who arrived at the Dharamshala Cricket Stadium to boost the morale of the Punjab Kings team ahead of their upcoming IPL match, told the media that lakhs of students toil day and night, harbouring dreams of transforming their families' fortunes, but when exams are cancelled due to paper leaks, these students are left heartbroken.
The NEET 2026 paper held on May 3 was cancelled on May 12 after reports of a paper leak in Rajasthan.
He said that the paper leak mafia is predominantly surfacing in regions governed by the BJP's 'double-engine' and 'triple-engine' governments. "Paper leaked, dreams shattered, the country's administrative system is unable to conduct even a single examination properly", he added.
Taking a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mann said that while Modi imposes various restrictions on the public, he himself continues to embark on foreign tours.
He asserted that the public deserves to know the country's true economic situation.
"The prime minister must disclose the current status of the country's oil reserves, the extent of our gold reserves, and fundamentally why restrictions are being imposed on every single commodity", he said.
No other nation has imposed such restrictions and the ongoing war is being used as a pretext, even though the country's economy is already in a precarious state, Mann added.
Regarding the ongoing campaign against drugs in Punjab, Mann said that the state government is continuously taking action against drug traffickers and asserted that a large number of traffickers are being sent to jail and that Punjab will soon move towards becoming drug-free.
Speaking about the upcoming IPL match between Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians to be held in Dharamshala, Mann said that he also holds the portfolio of Punjab's sports minister and has arrived in Dharamshala to cheer the team.
