[Bhima Koregaon] Justice PB Varale of Bombay High Court recuses from hearing Varavara Rao plea

Justice PB Varale of Bombay High Court on Tuesday recused himself from hearing the plea by Bhima Koregaon-accused Varavara Rao seeking extension of medical bail granted to him by the High Court in February 2021..When the plea was called out for hearing, Justice Varale stated at the outset that "this matter not (be listed) before me" and stated that he is recusing himself. .This is not the first time that Justice Varale has recused himself in cases connected to Bhima Koregaon accused. He had recused from hearing another petition filed by accused Surendra Gadling and Sudhir Dhawale, who had approached the High Court challenging the transfer of probe to the National Investigation Agency from the Pune Police. .There have been instances in the past where other judges have also recused themselves from hearing matters pertaining to the Bhima Koregaon case of 2018. In 2019, Justice Revati Mohite Dere recused herself from hearing the plea filed by 8 accused challenging orders of the Pune Sessions Court taking cognisance of the chargesheet filed by Pune Police. The plea was recently rejected by the High Court. .Even in the Supreme Court, five judges had recused themselves from hearing a plea filed by co-accused Gautam Navlakha seeking quashing of the FIR registered against him in the case..Meanwhile in the plea filed by Rao, the High Court permitted Rao to file his response on the report submitted by Nanavati hospital which indicated that his vital parameters seemed to be in normal range and the remaining clinical examination showed no significant abnormalities..The report was submitted after the High Court on November 29, 2021 had directed NIA to take Rao to a private hospital for medical examination at the expense of the agency in order to determine whether his bail can be extended or not.