Bombay HC sets deadline for Sudha Bharadwaj bail plea

Tells NIA, Maharashtra govt. not to seek further adjournments

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday told the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Maharashtra government not to seek any more adjournments and posted the bail plea filed by Sudha Bharadwaj, accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence case, for July 3. A division bench of justices S.S. Shinde and N.J. Jamadar was hearing a petition filed by Ms Bharadwaj, lodged at Byculla Jail, seeking default bail. Her plea states that the Pune sessions court judge was not authorised to take cognisance of the supplementary chargesheet filed in 2019 against her and other accused. The petition mentions, “The court was not the designated special court under the NIA Act which has exclusive jurisdiction to try scheduled offences like the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), and therefore, not the competent court.”