The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to Delhi University professor Hany Babu arrested in 2018 for his alleged involvement in the Bhima Koregaon violence case [Hany Babu v. National Investigation Agency & Ors.]..The prosecuting agency sought a stay on the order to enable them to file an appeal against it before the Supreme Court. However, the Division Bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Ranjitsinha R Bhonsale refused to grant stay on the grounds that Babu has been incarcerated for over 5 years and 7 months. Babu will be released after depositing bail bond in the lieu of ₹1 lakh along with sureties. .Babu was arrested on July 28, 2020, and has been in custody for over five years on charges of being a member of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and involvement in an alleged conspiracy to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Babu was also accused of being a part of a committee which supported GN Saibaba, a fellow academic, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for alleged Maoist connections.In February 2022, a trial court in Maharashtra rejected the bail plea filed by him and three others. In September 2022, the Bombay High Court upheld the trial court's decision to reject Babu's bail plea.This was challenged by Babu before the Supreme Court. In January this year, the top court sought the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) response to Babu's regular bail plea.However, in May this year, Babu withdrew his bail plea from the Supreme Court citing a change in circumstances and indicated that he would move a fresh bail plea before the Bombay High Court.He then filed the present petition before the High Court.Babu's counsel Yug Mohit Chaudhary argued for bail on grounds of inordinate delay in the trial. He pointed out that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had not even responded to the discharge application filed by Babu in the special NIA court in Mumbai.Chaudhary also cited the High Court's January order where it directed the special NIA court to expedite the trial and complete the framing of charges within nine months. The directions came in its order granting bail to activists Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale. .Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh opposed the application, arguing that Babu has been charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for alleged involvement in terror activity. He also explained that NIA had filed its reply to the discharge application, however the special court had decided to hear the discharge applications of all the accused in the case together, resulting in delay.He also pointed out that Babu's custody period was shorter than that of the other accused, including Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale..Advocates Yug Mohit Chaudhry and Anush Shetty appeared for Babu. Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh with Chintan Shah, Sandeep Sadawarte, Adarsh Vyas, Rma Gupta, Krishnakant Deshmukh and Rajdatt Nagre appeared for NIA. [Read order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.
