A special NIA court in Mumbai on Tuesday denied interim bail to Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor, one of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case [Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor v National Investigation Agency]
Gaichor had sought a two-week temporary release to visit his ailing father.
Special Judge Chakor Shrikrishna Baviskar, who presided over the matter, dismissed the plea after examining the medical documents of Gaichor's father.
Referring to the discharge papers and the condition of Gaichor’s father, the judge observed,
“Nothing serious is observed by the Medical Officer concerned, regarding health of father of applicant/accused Ramesh. Hence, this application Exh. 1215 is filed just for the sake of filing, just to take a chance to persuade this Court on emotional ground and nothing else.”
The Court noted that the symptoms are common among most elderly individuals and even some young people and therefore, do not justify Gaichor’s immediate visit.
"Besides weakness, breathlessness, loss of appetite, hyper acidity, chest pain, there is nothing serious mentioned in the Doctors order-sheet. All these symptoms are quite common for almost every senior citizen. Even they are common in many young men. By none of the certificates, it reveals that, physical condition of father of the applicant/accused is serious, so as to require him to immediately visit his father," the Court said.
The judge added that the application was perhaps prompted by a “somewhat liberal approach” the court had adopted in the past while granting interim bail to co-accused.
However, those orders were backed by reasoned findings, the Court underlined.
Gaichor is among the 16 activists arrested in connection with the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case. The case pertains to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad event in Pune on December 31, 2017, which, according to police, led to violence the following day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial.
Gaichor was arrested in September 2020. The prosecution opposed the interim bail plea, calling him a “habitual and repeat offender”. They argued that the medical grounds cited were not sufficient for temporary release.
The Court also took note of contradictory statements in Gaichor’s application. In one paragraph, it was stated that a bail application on merits was pending before the Bombay High Court while another paragraph claimed that no such application had been filed.
The Court found this inconsistency significant and said that it was enough to reject this application, especially when “clubbed with the absence of genuine, bonafide, immediate, urgent and serious reason.”
Advocate Deepa Punjani appeared for Gaichor.
Special Public Prosecutor Prakash Shetty appeared for NIA.
[Read Order]