SC denies interim bail to activist Jyoti Jagtap in Elgar Parishad case

The Supreme Court on Monday (July 15) refused to grant interim bail to activist Jyoti Jagtap, who has been in jail since September 2020 in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.

Justices MM Sundresh and Aravind Kumar also adjourned the hearing on the main bail plea of the activist. "We are not inclined to give interim bail", Justice Sundresh said.

NIA charge

Jagtap moved the apex court challenging the October 2022 order of the high court that refused to grant her bail, saying the NIA case against her was "prima facie true" and that she was part of a "larger conspiracy" hatched by the banned CPI (Maoist).

The high court had said Jagtap was an active member of the Kabir Kala Manch group, which, in a stage play at the Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune in 2017, gave not only "aggressive but highly provocative slogans".

Provocative slogans raised?

The Elgar Parishad conclave was held at Shaniwarwada, an 18th-century palace-cum-fort in the heart of Pune city.

Jagtap, accused of singing and raising provocative slogans at the conclave with other KKM members, has been in the Byculla women's prison in Mumbai since her arrest in September 2020.

Provocation "sparked violence"

According to the investigators, provocative speeches that were allegedly made at the conclave triggered violence at Bhima-Koregaon on the outskirts of Pune on January 1, 2018.

Jagtap was taken into custody under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.