[Bhima Koregaon] Bombay High Court seeks NIA response in permanent bail plea of Varavara Rao

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday sought the response of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and State prison authorities on the permanent bail application filed by Bhima Koregaon accused Varavara Rao. .Justices SB Shukre and GA Sanap was hearing application filed by Rao seeking extension of the medical bail granted to him by the High Court in February 2021.The Court opined that the findings of the earlier Division Bench had attained finality additionally due to the fact that it had not been challenged before the Supreme Court. The Bench then proceeded to ask why Rao cannot be considered for permanent bail.”Why can’t he (Rao) be considered for grant of permanent bail when there is a finding that placing undertrial in custody is incompatible with his health condition and would risk deterioration of his health to a point of no return?” the Bench enquired. Advocate Sandesh Patil appearing for NIA argued that those findings were based on COVID situation which is why the Court did not grant permanent bail instead.“If Taloja prison is a black sheep, let him go to any other jail,“ Patil suggested. Patil added that the decision granting temporary bail had not been challenged considering the prevalent COVID situation and the fact that Rao was 82 years old. Justice Shukre then asked whether it would be good to send him back to prison since he was a year older. “His age is further advanced. There are no facilities in Taloja and his condition has been found to be incompatible with the conditions at Taloja,“ the Bench said. With this the Bench issued notice to the NIA to respond to the application seeking permanent bail. The Bench also extended interim protection granted to Rao from any coercive action till March 21, 2022..Rao had filed for extension of medical bail in February 2021 and modification of the conditions of bail. However, along with NIA's objection, 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.The earlier Bench hearing the petition had enquired with the NIA on whether the octogenarian poet ought to be sent to prison amidst the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.The High Court also mused as to why Rao was only granted 6 months of bail despite its strong observations regarding medical conditions at Taloja prison