Bhima Koregaon Case: Supreme Court Grants Bail To Accused Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira

On Friday (28 July), the Supreme Court granted bail to Bhima Koregaon accused Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, both of whom have been in jail for offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967.

They were arrested in connection with the 2018 violence at Bhima Koregaon in Pune, and for having links with the Communist Party of India (Maoists).

The Supreme Court bench comprising of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia granted bail to both the accused, even after acknowledging the seriousness of the allegations.

The bench reasoned that they have been in custody for almost five years, and therefore they should be granted bail.

Previously, in December 2021 their bail plea was rejected by the Bombay High Court.

The court, however, was cognisant to impose strict bail conditions as Vernon Gonsalves was earlier convicted of offences under the UAPA and he has criminal cases pending against him.

The accused are not allowed to leave the state of Maharashtra. They are required to surrender their passports with the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and they can only have one mobile connection which should be active round the clock with location switched on.

Moreover, their phone will be paired with the NIA investigating officer in order to enable him to identify the exact location.