The Pune sessions court has set October 10 as the date to hear the bail pleas of activists Sudha Bharadwaj and Vernon Gonsalves for their alleged links with the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) and the Bhima-Koregaon clashes after their lawyers filed applications in the court.
Both were arrested on August 28 in a countrywide crackdown by the Pune police along with poet Varavara Rao, activist Arun Ferreira and journalist Gautam Navlakha. They have been under house arrest since August 29.
Ms. Bharadwaj moved her bail application through her counsel Yug Chaudhary on Thursday. Advocate Rahul Deshmukh, acting for Mr. Gonsalves, said that a bail plea was filed on the activist’s behalf on Friday.
On Wednesday, the habeas corpus petition filed by Ms. Bharadwaj in the Punjab and Haryana High Court was withdrawn after the Supreme Court order which gave time to all the accused to seek legal remedy from the local courts.
Admitting the pleas, Special judge K.D. Wadane set the date for hearing as October 10.
Counsel’s argument
“In our detailed plea, we argued that Mr. Gonsalves’ arrest by the Pune police was in utter violation of Supreme Court guidelines,” said Advocate Deshmukh, speaking to The Hindu .
Sources said that the bail pleas of Mr. Rao and Mr. Ferreira are expected to be filed soon as well.
