Bhima Koregaon Case: SC Adjourns Bail Plea Of Professor Shoma Sen Till Oct 4

The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned the plea of Professor Shoma Sen, accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, challenging an order of the Bombay High Court rejecting her bail for October 4.

A bench comprising of Justices Aniruddha Bose and SVN Bhatti directed the matter at the request of the National Investigating Agency (NIA) and also issued a notice in the interim bail application filed on medical grounds by Sen.

In January, the Bombay High Court directed Professor Sen to approach the special NIA court for bail before coming to the High Court.

Sen who’s an English Literature Professor has been behind bars since 2018.

Prior to the filing of the chargesheet in December 2018, she applied for bail before the Pune Sessions Court. Additionally, another application was submitted after the chargesheet, however, both of which faced rejection by the Sessions Court in November 2019.

Subsequently, Professor Sen, a former departmental head at Nagpur University, turned to the Bombay High Court seeking bail. Regrettably, the High Court declined to grant her bail.

Professor Sen and her co-accused were implicated under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967 in relation to the caste-based violence that erupted in Bhima Koregaon, Pune in 2018. The charges also stem from alleged affiliations with the proscribed entity, the Communist Party of India (Maoists).