The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary– Aug 12, 2022; Day 339

Just in case: On courts and the tenability (The quality of being plausible or acceptable to a reasonable person) of the Bhima Koregaon case

It is time the tenability of the Bhima Koregaon case was examined by courts

The grant of bail to the 82-year-old Telugu poet and activist, Varavara Rao, on medical grounds is a welcome relief to at least one of those arraigned (Accuse of a wrong or an inadequacy) in the controversial Bhima-Koregaon case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The Supreme Court has rightly ignored the arguments on behalf of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) that age is not a factor in considering grant of bail for one involved in an attempt to overthrow (Cause the downfall of) the democratically elected government and that his medical condition is not serious enough. It cannot be forgotten that tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy, another octogenarian (Being from 80 to 89 years old) who was arrested in the same case, died of poor health even while his petition for bail on health grounds was being heard. In Mr. Rao’s case, he was taken into custody in August 2018 and granted interim bail for six months on health grounds in February 2021. The Bombay High Court had set a date for him to return to custody after treatment, but it has been extended from time to time. Having regard to his age, the Supreme Court has now removed the time limit and given him regular bail, albeit (even though) with the conditions that he stay in Mumbai and not to get in touch with witnesses. The Court has also taken note of the fact that the charge sheet has been filed in the case, but the trial court is yet to frame (to outline) charges. Further, there is no claim that he misused the interim (Serving during an intermediate interval of time) bail in any way.

The options of an accused to get bail under UAPA are largely limited to health grounds, because bail on merits is nearly impossible to get. Under this law, the accused have to demonstrate that the allegations ((law) a formal accusation against somebody (often in a court of law)) made against them in the police version is, prima facie (At first sight), not true. This onerous ((of a task) requiring hard or challenging work) condition is not easy to fulfil, especially after the Supreme Court in NIA vs Zahoor Ahmad Shah Wataliruled that while considering bail, the court should not go deep into the material against a person and must decide whether the prosecution case was true “based on the broad probabilities” of the case. However, the Supreme Court has indeed got around this limitation by treating any long delay in holding the trial (judicial examination) and violation of fundamental rights as grounds to grant bail even in UAPA cases. The Bhima Koregaon case is an off-shoot (A natural consequence of development) of disturbances that took place during a commemorative (Intended as a ceremony to honour the memory of someone or something) event on December 31, 2017, in Pune. It was used to rope in (lure) lawyers and activists and build a case of an alleged Maoist plot to overthrow the government. There are credible reports that electronic evidence in the case could have been planted using spyware (Computer software that obtains information from a user’s computer without the user’s knowledge or consent) to implicate (Bring into intimate and incriminating connection) the accused. It is time the courts examined the core question whether the case itself is tenable or one fabricated (Concoct something artificial or untrue) to corner some activists. The judiciary should not countenance (give permission) the prolonged incarceration (The state of being imprisoned) of anyone in a case of doubtful validity.

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