SC gives bail to Nagpur University’s Shoma Sen in Bhima Koregaon case

The Supreme Court on Friday (April 5) gave bail to former Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen, booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967 (UAPA), for alleged Maoist links in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case.

Justices Aniruddha Bose and Augustine George Masih held that the restriction for grant of bail as per section 43D (5) of the UAPA would not apply in the case of Sen, 62, who has been in custody since her arrest on June 6, 2018.

'Sen ailing, of advanced age'

The court also said that Sen was of advanced age and suffered from several ailments. It took into account her prolonged jailing, the delay in start of trial and the nature of the accusations.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had admitted earlier in the court that her further custody was not required.

Curbs on Sen

The judges told Sen not to leave Maharashtra without the special court’s permission and to surrender her passport and furnish her address and mobile number to the investigating officer.

She was also asked to keep the location and GPS of her mobile phone active throughout and told that the phone should be paired with that of the investigating officer so that her location remains known.

Sixth bail in Bhima Koregaon case

The division bench was hearing a petition challenging a January 2023 order of the Bombay High Court asking Sen to approach the special court trying her case for bail.

Sen is the sixth of the 16 accused in the case to get bail.

Sudha Bharadwaj got default bail while Anand Teltumbde, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira got bail on merits. Varavara Rao has been granted bail on medical grounds.

Grover’s arguments

Gautam Navlakha was shifted to house arrest due to health reasons by the Supreme Court. Another accused, Father Stan Swamy, died in custody in July 2021. Senior Advocate Anand Grover, who represented Sen, said there was lack of evidence connecting the professor to the case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 or establishing her purported links with the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist).

Court’s fiat

The court took into account the length of Sen’s incarceration and held that the seriousness of the allegations alone could not be a ground to deny bail.

During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, representing the NIA, challenged the maintainability of the academician's bail application in the Supreme Court.