The Supreme Court on Monday declined to grant interim bail to activist Jyoti Jagtap, who is imprisoned in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case. A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Aravind Kumar also postponed the hearing on her main bail plea.
“We are not inclined to give interim bail,” stated Justice Sundresh.
Jagtap had approached the Supreme Court to challenge the October 17, 2022, order of the high court that denied her bail. The high court had ruled that the National Investigation Agency’s case against her was “prima facie true” and that she was involved in a “larger conspiracy” orchestrated by the banned CPI (Maoist) outfit.
The high court had noted that Jagtap was an active member of the Kabir Kala Manch group, which, during a performance at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, delivered not only “aggressive, but highly provocative slogans.”
The Elgar Parishad conclave of 2017 took place at Shaniwarwada, an 18th-century palace-fort in Pune.
Jagtap, accused of singing and raising provocative slogans at the conclave with other KKM members, was arrested in September 2020 and has been held at the Byculla women’s prison in Mumbai since then.
According to investigators, the provocative speeches allegedly made at the conclave led to violence at Koregaon-Bhima on the outskirts of Pune on January 1, 2018.
Jagtap remains in jail under charges related to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
