Supreme Court grants interim bail to Bhima Koregaon accused Jyoti Jagtap

The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted interim bail to Jyoti Jagtap, one of the accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon violence case.

A Bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma passed the order after it was brought to their notice that Jagtap has been in custody for nearly 5.5 years.

"She has been in custody since 5 years 6 months. Let the matter be adjourned as sought but bail be granted," Senior Advocate Aparna Bhat said on behalf of Jagtap.

The Bench then proceeded to grant interim bail.

Jagtap, one of the youngest accused in case was arrested on September 8, 2020 by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and was chargesheeted on October 9, 2020.

Jagtap was alleged to be a member of the Kabir Kala Manch (KKM), a banned organization under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The cultural group which supposedly took up social causes through their music and poetry was formed after the Gujarat riots of 2002.

She had initially approached the Bombay High Court in appeal after a special NIA court had rejected her bail application on February 14, 2022.

The Bombay High Court in October 2022 rejected her petition, leading to the appeal before the top court.

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