Elgar Case: Varavara Rao Medical Bail Extended Till March 3

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Saturday extended medical bail granted to poet and activist Varavara Rao,till March 31. Varavara Rao (82) one of the accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case was granted bail by the HC in February 2021 on health grounds for six months but was asked to stay in Mumbai.

The activist then filed an application seeking extension of the bail and subsequently filed another plea seeking permanent bail on the ground of ill-health. His lawyers mentioned his fresh plea seeking extension of bail before a division bench of Justices S B Shukre and A M Borkar on Saturday.

The poet has asymptomatic Parkinson's disease, neurological ailments and suffers from severe abdominal pain indicating umbilical hernia as per his medical reports. He also requested the court to allow him to return to Telangana. The court said it would hear the application on March 1, and extended the time for surrender till March 3.

The Elgar case relates to the alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial. The Pune police initially, claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists, subsequently, the National Investigation Agency took over the probe. Several other activists including Varavara Rao were arrested in the case under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. (With inputs from TNIE)

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