New Delhi: The Supreme Court has granted Telugu poet and alleged maoist sympathiser P Varavara Rao bail on medical grounds. The court noted that the 82-year-old poet – an accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case – is entitled to bail on medical grounds without any limit on time.
The Supreme Court ruled that Rao will have to take official permission before leaving the jurisdiction of the concerned trial court. He has also been barred from misusing his liberty and getting in touch with any of the witnesses in the case.
The Supreme Court also said Varavara Rao will be allowed to access medical treatment of his choice but has to inform NIA about the kind of medical care he’s receiving.
A bench comprising Justice UU Lalit also noted among the accused in the case, Varavara Rao is the only one being granted bail due to his medical condition. The court also ruled that the bail is being granted purely on medical grounds and the order will not impact the case of other accused in the case.
Rao had challenged the Bombay High Court’s rejection of extension of his bail plea on April 13 despite his age and precarious health condition.
He had pleaded that “any further incarceration would ring the death knell for him as advancing age and deteriorating health are a fatal combination.”
Varavara Rao has been accused of delivering alleged inflammatory speeches at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017. According to police, the speeches made by Varavara Rao and other members of the Elgar Parishad had led to violence near the Bhima-Koregaon war memorial the next day.
Varavara Rao was arrested on August 28, 2018 from his home in Hyderabad.
