[Bhima Koregaon] Mumbai court rejects default bail to 5 accused

A Mumbai court on Tuesday rejected the bail applications filed by Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, and Mahesh Raut, all accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence case.The applications were filed in 2018 seeking default bail on the ground that the extension granted by the court to the investigating agency for filing chargesheet was in violation of law..The five accused had been arrested in June 2018 by the Anti-Terrorist Squad, Pune (ATS) and the first chargesheet came to be filed in November 2018 against them. The accused filed for default bail on the ground that the police had sought extension of time to file chargesheet and the same was in violation of law. The ATS had been granted an extension and they also filed an additional chargesheet in February 2019. Meanwhile, the investigation was handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Special NIA court at Mumbai took over the case from 2020. .The accused argued that the extension sought in August 2018 which was eventually granted in September the same year was not sought in compliance with the procedure under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. It was contended that under Section 43D of the Act, in the event an extension of time is required to conclude investigation and to file chargesheet, the same can be done only after an appropriate report is filed by the public prosecutor citing reasonable explanation for extension..The NIA opposed the plea stating that the extension of time for filing of chargesheet was legal. NIA stated that the challenge to the extension of the time granted by the trial court for filing chargesheet had been raised before the Bombay High Court. The High Court had set aside the trial court order but the Supreme Court set aside the High Court order and upheld the extension, it was pointed out.In light of these developments, the present default bail application would not lie, NIA argued. Special Judge Rajesh Katariya after examining the rival arguments rejected the plea..Last year, eight accused had been refused bail by the High Court on December 1, 2021 while another co-accused Sudha Bharadwaj had been granted bail, which was confirmed by the Supreme Court as well.The High Court in its December 1 order, while demarcating Bharadwaj's plea from the other eight, had noted that Bharadwaj’s application for default bail was pending on the date the application for extension of time to file the chargesheet was made by the Pune Police.