Elgar Parishad Case: SC Issues Notices on Hany Babu’s Plea

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notices to the Maharashtra government and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on a plea by Hany Babu, a former Delhi University associate professor and accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case. The plea challenges the Bombay High Court’s order which rejected his bail plea.

A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sanjay Karol sought responses from the state government and the NIA within three weeks. The High Court on September 19, 2022 rejected the bail plea filed by Babu.

The NIA, which is conducting a probe into the case, accused Babu of being a co-conspirator in propagating Maoist activities and ideology on the instructions of leaders of the banned CPI (Maoist) organisation.

Babu was arrested in July 2020 in the case and is currently lodged at the Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai. The case is connected to the alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave, held in Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017. To this, the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon Bhima war memorial located on the city’s outskirts.

One person was killed and several others were injured in the violence.

A dozen activists and academicians had been named in the case. This case was initially probed by the Pune Police and later taken over by the NIA.

Babu approached the High Court in June 2023, challenging an order of the special NIA court which rejected his bail plea.

Babu stated in his plea that the special court had “erred” in holding that there existed prima facie incriminating material against him. The NIA had opposed the bail plea, arguing that Babu actively participated in activities to promote Naxalism and wanted to overthrow the government.