NIA Seeks Cancellation of Sudha Bhardwaj, Varavara Rao Bail in Bhima Koregaon Case

A special NIA court in Mumbai on Thursday directed that materials relied upon by the prosecution in seeking cancellation of activist-lawyer Sudha Bhardwaj’s bail be supplied to the accused only after due court verification. The matter has been posted for hearing on June 10 .

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had moved the court on May 15 seeking cancellation of bail granted to Bhardwaj and poet-activist Varavara Rao in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case . The agency alleged that the two attended a meeting at the Mumbai Press Club on January 19 with the intention of propagating the ideology of the banned CPI (Maoist) organisation.

According to the NIA, the gathering included several co-accused, including Arun Ferreira, Anand Teltumbde and Rona Wilson, and was aimed at discussing the future course of the so-called “Urban Naxal” movement . The agency argued that participation in such events violated bail conditions and posed a threat to national security and public order .

Bhardwaj, who was granted bail on technical grounds in 2021 , is subject to conditions including restrictions on travel and public comments related to the case. The NIA has contended that the accused have made themselves “undeserving of the concession of bail”.

The Bhima Koregaon case remains one of the country’s most politically contentious prosecutions involving activists, academics and lawyers accused of Maoist links under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) . Civil rights groups and opposition leaders have repeatedly alleged misuse of anti-terror laws to target dissenting voices, while the government has maintained that the case concerns threats to national security and extremist mobilisation.

The case originates from alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune on December 31, 2017, which investigators claim triggered violence near the Koregaon Bhima memorial the following day.