SC Grants Bail To Vernon Gonsalves And Arun Ferreira In Bhima Koregaon Case

The Supreme Court has granted bail to Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, two of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.

Gonsalves and Ferreira have been in jail since 2018 and had appealed to the apex court for bail after their pleas were denied by the Bombay High Court.

They argued that the Bombay HC had granted bail to co-accused Sudha Bharadwaj, but denied it to them.

The Bhima Koregaon case revolves around a conference held in Pune's Shaniwar Wada to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon-Bhima, which resulted in violence and the death of a young man, as well as injuries to several others.

In October 2018, six months after the incident, activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira were arrested and charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Initially, they, along with other activists Sudha Bharadwaj, P Vara Vara Rao, and Gautam Navlakha, were placed under house arrest as per the Supreme Court's directions.

The Maharashtra government recently granted another extension to the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry.

This two-member commission was established by the state government in February 2018 to investigate the cause of the violence.

Retired HC judge Justice J N Patel leads the commission, with former chief secretary Sumit Mallick serving as the second member.