"You have a good case on merits, why don't you file for regular bail?" SC says; Sudha Bharadwaj plea for interim bail dismissed as withdrawn

The Supreme Court today dismissed as withdrawn a plea filed on behalf of Sudha Bharadwaj, accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, seeking interim bail amid the COVID-19 pandemic..A Bench of Justices UU Lalit and Ajay Rastogi heard a plea against the Bombay High Court order which had dismissed Bharadwaj's earlier attempt to get interim bail on medical grounds amid the pandemic..Sudha Bharadwaj is taken care of in so far as her health is concerned: Bombay HC while rejecting bail plea [Read Order].Appearing for Bharadwaj today, Advocate Vrinda Grover sought interim bail on the grounds that her client was suffering from diabetes and had other co-morbidities. Grover said that while spending the last two years in jail, Bharadwaj had developed arthritis and a heart condition..When asked what the case against Bharadwaj was, Grover said,"There is a criminal conspiracy which is set to be hatched by her. She was practicing in Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) High Court. It is nobody's case that any material is recovered from her..."Justice Lalit then asked why a regular bail plea was not filed. Grover replied that such a plea is pending before the High Court..When Lalit J noted that the High Court order stated that Bharadwaj's medication was in order, Grover said,"I only seek your indulgence to get checked. These tests cannot happen in the jail hospital."Justice Rastogi then noted that she was examined by the jail authorities on August 20..Grover then went on to dispute the same, while reading out the medication given to Bharadwaj in jail. Justice Rastogi then asked,"Are you saying this report is false? You have a good case on merits. why don't you file a regular bail application?"With the Court noting that Bharadwaj's condition needed a deeper look, and that a regular bail plea could be filed, the plea was dismissed as withdrawn..Sudha Bharadwaj, 58, has been lodged in Mumbai's Byculla Women's Jail since 2018. She had earlier filed an appeal before the High Court after the Special NIA Court rejected her bail plea..Bhima Koregaon: Special NIA Court in Mumbai rejects interim bail plea of Sudha Bhardwaj.While holding that no case was made out for interim bail, the High Court noted that the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Maharashtra government, and the prison authorities were taking all precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and that she was being given the necessary medical care..Bhima Koregaon: NIA opposes Sudha Bharadwaj’s interim bail plea before Bombay HC, says gravity of alleged offence makes her ineligible.The High Court had also directed the Maharashtra government to submit Bharadwaj’s latest health report and an affidavit within a week clarifying how it proposed to implement safety guidelines and the Court’s PUCL judgement in the Byculla prison to protect inmates.