[Bhima Koregaon] Bombay High Court reserves verdict in plea by Varavara Rao seeking bail, permission to move to Telangana

The Bombay High Court on Monday reserved its verdict in the pleas filed by Telugu poet and Bhima Koregaon accused Varavara Rao seeking permanent bail and permission to move to Telangana [P. Varavara Rao v. National Investigation Agency & Ors.].Rao had been granted temporary medical bail by an earlier Division Bench in February 2021 for a period of six months.When the six month was about to expire, Rao filed for extension of medical bail in February 2021 and modification of the conditions of bail.However, in line with objection by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the High Court also instructed Rao to file a petition with fresh grounds.In this backdrop, Rao filed three separate pleas through Advocate R Satyanarayanan:An application seeking extension of the interim bail granted in February 2021;A writ petition seeking permanent bail on medical grounds; andAn application seeking permission to stay in Hyderabad during the duration of bail on the grounds that staying in Mumbai is expensive..Senior Advocate Anand Grover along with Advocate Aditya Chitale made the following submissions on behalf of Rao:That living in Mumbai with multiple medical ailments to tend to was turning out to be expensive; That Rao was spending about ₹96,000 per month, while the pension that he received from the State of Telangana was only ₹50,000;That by staying in Hyderabad, he may end up saving money, considering the fact that the cost of living and medical expenses are lower in Telangana;That medical ailments such as cataract surgery, Parkinson's and umbilical hernia required constant medical intervention. After undergoing surgery of the hernia, he requires a full-time care-taker. That security which NIA seeks can be managed from Telangana as well as NIA is a national agency having jurisdiction across the country. Therefore, Rao could report to the NIA office located in Telangana. That Rao had been acquitted in all offences charged against him earlier, but in the present case, he could not be kept in prison despite his poor health in order to avoid further deterioration like the previous time. .Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh on behalf of NIA opposed all the applications with three fold submissions:That Rao's application for permanent bail and leave to move to Telangana had been rejected by the earlier Bench; That the earlier Bench had after considering all citations submitted that the undertrial cannot be granted permanent bail on medical ground for unlimited period and unconditionally; and the order was unchallenged; That as per Section 437 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Rao was required to first approach the Sessions Court, before coming to the High Court directly, hence the writ petition for permanent bail was not maintainable; That the period of six months of interim bail had expired after which Rao filed for extension of medical bail; however even the subsequent period of 6 months have already lapsed;That doctors at Nanavati hospital had examined Rao and given their opinion in the report submitted to the Court;That if Rao requires medical attention, then the prison authorities are equipped to look after him, and if required, transfer to JJ hospital, which has excellent doctors giving priority to a humanitarian approach; That Rao is an accused of serious offences under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) which was also considered by the earlier bench while rejecting the permanent bail application..After a brief hearing, a Bench of Justices Sunil B Shukre and GA Sanap reserved all the three applications for orders. They extended the interim protection granted to Rao from any coercive action till the final verdict in all three applications.