The Supreme Court today granted bail to Shoma Sen, a former professor at Nagpur University who had been detained since her arrest in 2018 under the strict anti-terror law Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in relation to the Elgar Parishad case. A bench made up of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Augustine George Masih rendered the decision after taking into account a number of variables, such as Ms. Sen’s age, her health, her extended incarceration, the timing of her trial, and the type of charges she was facing.
The bench clarified that the restrictions outlined in Section 43D(5) of the UAPA, which typically make bail difficult, would not apply in Ms Sen’s case. Recognising her advanced age, 66, and health concerns, the court imposed several conditions for her release.
According to the court’s directives, Ms Sen must report to the station house officer within the jurisdiction where she resides once every fortnight or 14 days. Additionally, she is not permitted to leave Maharashtra without a special court’s approval and must surrender her passport. Ms Sen is also obligated to inform the anti-terror agency NIA about her place of residence and keep her mobile phone on with a charged battery, ensuring that her GPS remains active and linked to the NIA officer’s phone for location tracking purposes.
The Supreme Court said that any breach of these conditions would warrant a cancellation of her bail, but such requests must be made before the Special Court, referencing the Supreme Court’s order.
Ms Sen was arrested on June 6, 2018 for her alleged involvement in the Bhima Koregaon violence case, particularly her alleged links with CPI (Maoist). The incident resulted in her detention under the UAPA, a law designed to combat unlawful activities deemed a threat to India’s sovereignty and integrity.
The case against Ms Sen and several others revolves around speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held on December 31, 2017 at Pune’s Shaniwarwada. Authorities claim that these speeches incited violence near the Bhima-Koregaon war memorial the following day, with allegations of Maoist support.
The Pune Police turned over the case’s investigation, which has implicated a number of academicians and activists, to the NIA.
Of the 16 defendants in the case, Ms. Sen is the sixth to have obtained bail. In 2021, Sudha Bharadwaj obtained default bail; in 2022 and 2023, bail was granted to Anand Teltumbde, Vernon Gonsalves, and Arun Ferreira. Due to medical reasons, Varavara Rao was granted bail, while Gautam Navlakha was placed under house arrest by the Supreme Court because of health issues.
Navlakha and Mahesh Raut were granted bail by the Bombay High Court; however, the same court later put these decisions on hold, and the Supreme Court upheld them. July 2021 saw the passing of another defendant, Father Stan Swamy, while he was being held.
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