Researcher Wilson, activist Dhawale walk out of prison on getting bail in 2018 Elgar case
Mumbai, Jan 24 (PTI): Researcher Rona Wilson and activist Sudhir Dhawale, accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, were on Friday released on bail from a Navi Mumbai prison, more than six years after they were arrested.
The duo walked out of the Taloja jail in neighbouring Navi Mumbai at around 1:30 pm on completion of bail formalities before the special NIA court presiding over the case, over a fortnight after they were granted bail by the Bombay High Court.
The HC granted bail to Wilson and Dhawale on January 8, noting they had been in jail since 2018 and the trial in the case, in which anti-terror act UAPA has been invoked, was yet to start.
"They are in jail since 2018. Even the charges in the case are yet to be framed. The prosecution has cited over 300 witnesses, thus there is no possibility of the trial concluding in the near future," the HC observed while granting them relief.
A trial starts after charges are framed in a criminal case.
Apart from Dhawale and Wilson, 14 other activists and academicians were arrested in the case. Eight of them -- Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Anand Teltumbde, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Shoma Sen, Gautam Navlakha and Mahesh Raut -- have been granted bail till now.
Among them, Raut still remains in jail as the appeal filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against his bail is pending before the Supreme Court.
Jesuit priest and activist Stan Swamy, one of the accused, died in 2021 while lodged in judicial custody.
The case pertains to provocative speeches allegedly delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, triggering violence at Koregaon-Bhima, a village outside Pune city, the next day.
The Pune police had claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists. The NIA later took over the probe.
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No need for guv: DMK leader Kanimozhi
Chennai (PTI): Senior DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on Friday reiterated her party’s opposition to the office of the governor amid uncertainty over government formation in Tamil Nadu after a fractured election mandate.
Speaking to PTI Videos, Kanimozhi emphasised that the DMK’s demand for the abolition of the governor’s post remained unchanged, especially as questions arise over constitutional propriety during the current political transition.
"Our position that we do not need a governor at all is something the DMK has never changed at any point in time," she said.
When asked about the governor’s actions following the election results—particularly the delay in inviting the leading party to form the government—Kanimozhi pointed to what she described as the "inherent friction" between the office of the governor and the political interests of the state.
She said the current situation "raises a lot of questions" and requires introspection regarding constitutional procedures.
Kanimozhi described the election results as lacking a "clear mandate", which she identified as the primary reason for the prevailing political uncertainty in the state.
"What the people decide is supreme," she said, adding that while the mandate was not decisive, it must be respected.
The Thoothukudi MP attributed the ongoing delays and "many confusions" to the absence of a decisive majority for any single party.
She firmly dismissed rumours about the DMK potentially supporting the AIADMK from outside to help stabilise the government.
She described such reports as mere "speculation" and "rumours".
"We can’t be responding to every rumour," she said, declining to comment on the AIADMK’s claims regarding its numbers to form the government.
The political situation in Tamil Nadu remains fluid as stakeholders await the governor’s next constitutional step in an Assembly where no party has secured a clear majority.
The DMK and AIADMK—both of which suffered significant losses to the TVK—are reportedly exploring tactical manoeuvres to navigate the hung Assembly.
The TVK, with 108 seats and the support of Congress’s five MLAs, is still short of the majority mark. The DMK and AIADMK secured 59 and 47 seats, respectively.
