Elgar Parishad Case: NIA Opposes Medical Bail Plea Of Activist Shoma Kanti Sen In SC

The NIA on Thursday strongly opposed Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case accused Shoma Kanti Sen’s plea seeking the interim bail on health grounds, stating that she was suffering from general ailments and there was nothing special about it.

Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, appearing for NIA, told a bench of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Augustine George Masih that a medical board can be constituted to verify Sen’s medical condition and there is nothing which requires immediate treatment.

Nataraj stated after the bench expressed inclination to grant medical bail, “the medical report shows that these are general ailments and there is nothing special about it. If required, we will constitute a medical board to ascertain her health condition.”

Senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for Sen, stated that she has been in jail for over a period of 5 years and suffering from various ailments.

The additional solicitor general vehemently opposed any relief to Sen and stated that he was ready to argue the main matter relating to bail. The top court stated that it will hear the matter on December 6.

Earlier, the top court sought responses from the NIA & Maharashtra on an application by Sen seeking interim bail on health grounds.

Sen, an English literature professor and women’s rights activist, got arrested on June 6, 2018, in connection with the case.

The top court heard Sen’s plea challenging January 17 order of the Bombay High Court which directed her to approach the special NIA court for bail.

Furthermore, the case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held at Shaniwarwada in Pune city on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the city’s outskirts.

The Pune police claimed that the conclave was backed by Maoists.

The high court dealt with Sen’s plea challenging the November 2019 order that was passed by Additional Sessions Judge, Pune, rejecting her bail application. She claimed before the high court that she was falsely implicated in the case.

“As noted in an order dated December 2, 2022, the investigation of the present crime was subsequently transferred to the NIA in the month of January 2020, i.e. after passing of the impugned order,” the high court noted in its January 17 order.

It stated, “It is to be noted here that, after the NIA filed the supplementary charge sheet, in view of the substantive change in circumstance, the applicant (Sen) didn’t approach the trial court at the first instance for appreciation of evidence by it.”

The high court stated that the petitioner needed to approach the trial court afresh to seek bail so that the trial court could get an opportunity to assess the entire material available on record against her.

It disposed of the bail application and granted her liberty to approach the trial court for relief.

The probe in the case, in which more than a dozen activists and academicians were named as accused, was transferred to the NIA.