Mumbai: Court rejects bail pleas of two accused in Elgar case

MUMBAI: A special court on Tuesday rejected the interim bail pleas of two accused in the Elgar Parishad case, P Varavara Rao (80) and Shoma Sen (61), who had sought relief citing the coronavirus pandemic and their advanced age. Special judge RR Bhosale said the directive allowing undertrials to be released on bail in light of coronavirus excluded, among others, offenders under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA)."Thus, the accused are not entitled to interim bail on that ground," the court said.
While Rao is in Taloja jail, Sen is lodged at Byculla jail along with another accused, Sudha Bharadwaj.
Rao's defence lawyer R Satyanarayan had told the court he was suffering from multiple ailments and could contract coronavirus due to his vulnerable condition. Sen's lawyer Sharif Shaikh had submitted that she suffered from osteoarthritis, glaucoma and high blood pressure. Older people and those with underlying medical conditions were more likely to develop coronavirus, Sen's defence argued. Both Rao and Sen sought their release on temporary bail for a period decided by the court.