Sudha Bharadwaj to be released in Elgar Parishad case
What's the story
A special court under the National Investigation Agency on Wednesday set bail conditions for lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj - an accused in the Elgar Parishad case. The Bombay High Court had last week granted her default bail. She has been asked to furnish a bail bond of Rs. 50,000 with two sureties, reports say. Here are more details on this.
Context
Why does it matter?
Bharadwaj will walk free on Wednesday after spending over three years in prison. She was produced before an NIA court in Mumbai earlier in the day, one week after the Bombay HC granted bail to her. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court had rejected a plea by the NIA challenging the bail. "We see no reason to interfere," an apex court bench said.
Conditions
What are the bail conditions?
According to the bail conditions: Bharadwaj will have to reside within the jurisdiction of the court - Mumbai. She cannot leave the city without the court's permission. She must provide her residential and contact details to the court. In case of a change in address, the court must be informed. She also cannot talk to the media about the case.
Case
What is the Elgar Parishad case?
The case pertains to the violence that took place on January 1, 2018, in Pune at an event organized to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. One person had died and several others were injured in the violence. Police said the violence was at least partly instigated by alleged inflammatory speeches at the Elgar Parishad program on December 31, 2017.
Details
Who is Sudha Bharadwaj?
Bharadwaj was arrested in the case on August 28, 2018. She had been associated with the trade union movement in Chhattisgarh for more than 20 years. In addition to that, she served as the general secretary of the Chhattisgarh unit of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and a member of Women against Sexual Violence and State Repression (WSS).