02-07-2025
Symptoms cited to meet ailing father ‘common for almost every senior citizen': Mumbai court denies interim bail for Elgaar Parishad accused
A special court in Mumbai Tueday denied interim bail for two weeks sought by an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case, citing that symptoms suffered by his father are 'quite common for almost every senior citizen'.
Singer-performer Ramesh Gaichor has been behind bars since 2020 over alleged Maoist affiliation.
He sought temporary bail, citing that he wants to meet his father and be with him, given the latter's age and medical condition.
The court said that while his father was admitted to a hospital, he had been discharged and that the medical officer observed nothing serious.
'Besides weakness, breathlessness, loss of appetite, hyper acidity, chest pain, there is nothing serious mentioned in the doctor's order-sheet. All these symptoms are quite common for almost every senior citizen. Even they are common in many young men. None of the certificates reveals that the physical condition of the father of the applicant/accused is serious, so as to require him to immediately visit his father,' Special Judge C S Baviskar said in his order.
The court stated that in the past, accused in the same case have been granted interim bail on humanitarian grounds, such as to attend exams or study, but only after reasonable cause was established.
'Perhaps, this somewhat liberal approach and earlier orders of this court prompted this applicant/ accused to move this application, without much serious cause,' it said, adding that the plea was filed 'for the sake of filing' and 'to take a chance to persuade the court on emotional ground'.
The case concerns alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune on December 31, 2017.
These speeches allegedly incited violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the city.
Gaichor and 15 others were arrested in the case, where the National Investigation Agency (NIA) claimed that the accused were members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).
While one of the accused, Stan Swamy, passed away pending trial, nine are now out of jail, while six remain in custody, including Mahesh Raut, who was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in September 2023.
Raut remains behind bars as his bail plea is pending before the Supreme Court.
Gaichor's bail plea on merits is pending before the Bombay High Court.
The trial in the case is yet to begin.
