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Supreme Court To Hear Surendra Gadling’s Bail Plea In Gadchiroli Arson Case On September 24

Supreme Court To Hear Surendra Gadling’s Bail Plea In Gadchiroli Arson Case On September 24

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Live Law / by Amisha Shrivastava

Senior Advocate Anand Grover on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the case against Dalit rights activist and advocate Surendra Gadling in the 2016 Gadchiroli Surajgad arson incident was “completely false” and based only on electronic evidence illegally seized in the Bhima Koregaon case.
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The Court adjourned the matter to next Wednesday (September 24) after briefly hearing Grover and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju.
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thread by Live Law /  @LiveLawIndia (Sep 17):

#SupremeCourt hears bail plea of lawyer Surendra Gadling, accused under UAPA in the 2016 Gadchiroli arson case.
Bench: Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Vijay Bishnoi.
Senior Advocate Anand Grover: he was not named in the FIR. He was arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case. In that case, under procedure unknown to law say that they have found electronic evidence implicating him in this case.
J Maheshwari: What is the material against him?
Grover: Nothing except the evidence found in the other case. The procedure in that case to collect evidence totally contrary to law. And then they say that there is evidence in those electronic devices that you are a member of the maoist party.
Grover: evidence that they have collected, he was espousing that cause to fight it legally. There was no search warrant.
J Maheshwari to ASG SV Raju: he is saying that search Warren application was submitted but it was not permitted by the court still you made a search.
Raju: there is no requirement for obtaining search warrant in the course of investigation. It is right of the investigating officer to search any place for the purpose of finding evidence, those are inherent powers of the IO.
Raju: I will point out from the CrPC. Even assuming that the search was illegal the court has taken a view that material recovered can be admissible as evidence. Even if search is illegal material collected is not washed of. It can be relied upon and conviction can be based on it
J Maheshwari: If we continue for 15 minutes you will finish it?
Raju: It will take time.
Court: List on next Wednesday.

Also read:
▪ 6 yrs, no charges framed – Surendra Gadling stuck in trial limbo in 2016 Surajgarh arson case (The Print / Sep 2025)
▪ SC to hear bail plea of Bhima Koregaon accused Surendra Gadling on Sep 17 (Hindustan Times / Sep 2025)
▪ In Surendra Gadling’s case, adjournment becomes the verdict (Frontline / Aug 2025)
▪ How Long is Too Long? – On the Maximum Period that an Undertrial Prisoner can be Detained (Constitutional Law and Philosophy | by Hany Babu and Surendra Gadling | Oct 2024)
▪ Surendra Gadling’s Computer Was Attacked, Incriminating Documents Planted: Arsenal Consulting (The Wire / July 2021)

6 yrs, no charges framed – Surendra Gadling stuck in trial limbo in 2016 Surajgarh arson case

6 yrs, no charges framed – Surendra Gadling stuck in trial limbo in 2016 Surajgarh arson case

Nagpur 2018 | Credits: Scroll.in / pti

The Print / by Ruchi Bhattar

Despite nearly 200 listings in trial court, proceedings haven’t moved beyond preliminary stage. Surendra Gadling was arrested in Surajgarh arson case in January 2019.
Human rights lawyer Surendra Pundalik Gadling has spent more than six-and-a-half years in custody as an undertrial in the 2016 Surajgarh arson case, with the trial still stalled at the stage of framing of charges.
Gadling, also an accused in the Elgar Parishad–Koregaon Bhima case, was granted interim bail last week in this matter by an NIA court in Mumbai to attend the last rites of a family member.
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Video: 6yrs, no charges framed


en | 4:51 | 2025
Maharasthra human rights lawyer and activist Surnedra Gadling was arrested in Surajgarh arson case in January 2019. Despite nearly 200 listings in trial courts over 4 years, proceedings haven’t moved beyond preliminary stage. He’s also accused in the Bhima Koregaon case. Ruchi Bhattar explains more in this video.
Watch video

Also read:
▪ Judiciary ‘turning justice into punishment’: PUCL slams bail denial in UAPA cases (Countercurrents / Sep 2025)
▪ SC to hear bail plea of Bhima Koregaon accused Surendra Gadling on Sep 17 (Hindustan Times / Sep 2025)
▪ In Surendra Gadling’s case, adjournment becomes the verdict (Frontline / Aug 2025)
▪ How Long is Too Long? – On the Maximum Period that an Undertrial Prisoner can be Detained (Constitutional Law and Philosophy | by Hany Babu and Surendra Gadling | Oct 2024)
▪ When Push Comes to Shove: Tracking Judicial Recusals and Transfers (The Wire / Apr 2023)
▪ A poet, a lawyer, a professor: These are the five activists held for sparking Bhima Koregaon clashes (Scroll.in / Jun 2018)

Ongoing detention of activists without bail, criminalisation of dissent and ban on books

Ongoing detention of activists without bail, criminalisation of dissent and ban on books

monitor.civicus.org / by CIVICUS

India’s civic space is rated as ‘repressed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. Even as the country celebrated its 79th Independence Day on 15th August 2025, the government continued to target activists and civil society organisations by misusing draconian anti-terror and sedition laws to silence dissent. Laws like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) are used to keep activists and academics behind bars and to fabricate charges against those critical of the government and its polarising, discriminative and anti-poor policies.
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BK-16 activists detained for years continue to seek bail
Academic and anti-caste activist Hany Babu was due to appear before the Bombay High Court seeking regular (indefinite) bail on 12th August 2025 after his request was approved by the Supreme Court on 16th July 2025. However, his bail hearing has been delayed without prior notice until 8th September 2025. He has spent more than 5 years in jail awaiting trial.
Hany Babu, who has been held in pre-trial detention since his formal arrest on 28 July 2020, has applied for bail on at least five separate occasions, including medical bail, but has yet to be approved.
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Also read:
▪ India: Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee on the deterioration of civic space (CIVICUS /Jul 2024)
▪ Civic Freedoms in India ‘Repressed’: Global Monitor Civicus (The Wire / Mar 2023)

NIA court grants interim bail Surendra Gadling to attend family rituals

NIA court grants interim bail Surendra Gadling to attend family rituals

Hindustan Times / by Prateem Rohanekar

Gadling, arrested in 2018 for alleged Maoist links, had sought bail from September 3 to 19 following the death of his sister-in-law Kavita Narendra Gadling on September 1. His counsel argued that his presence was necessary as the family shared close ties, adding that he had earlier honoured all interim bail conditions without misuse
A special NIA court in Mumbai on Wednesday granted temporary bail to Nagpur-based lawyer and activist Surendra Pundlik Gadling, an accused in the Elgar Parishad–Koregaon Bhima case, to attend post-death rituals of his sister-in-law.
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Also read:
▪ SC to hear bail plea of Bhima Koregaon accused Surendra Gadling on Sep 17 (Hindustan Times / Sep 2025)
▪ In Surendra Gadling’s case, adjournment becomes the verdict (Frontline / Aug 2025)

Supreme Court defers Surendra Gadling’s bail once again; 17 adjournments in two years

Supreme Court defers Surendra Gadling’s bail once again; 17 adjournments in two years

Supreme Court defers Surendra Gadling’s bail once again; 17 adjournments in two years

04/09/2025

Bar & Bench / by Ritwik Choudhury

The human rights lawyer has been in custody for over six years without charges being framed in connection with the 2016 Surajgarh arson case.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned the bail plea of human rights lawyer and Surajgarh arson accused Surendra Gadling for the 17th time since it was first filed in August 2023 [Surendra Pundalik Gadling vs State of Maharashtra].
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SC to hear bail plea of Bhima Koregaon accused Surendra Gadling on Sep 17

03/09/2025

Hindustan Times / by Abraham Thomas

The decision comes a week after another bench of the top court recused from hearing the matter amid concerns raised by Gadling’s lawyers over the long pendency of the matter since August 2023
The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed September 17 as the date for hearing the bail plea of Bhima Koregaon violence accused and lawyer Surendra Gadling, a week after another bench of the top court recused from hearing the matter amid concerns raised by his lawyers over the long pendency of the matter since August 2023.
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Supreme Court to hear next week Surendra Gadling’s bail plea

29/08/2025

Law Beat / by Aishwarya Iyer

Gadling had reportedly asked Maoists to oppose the operation of Surjagarh mines and instigated several locals to join the movement.
The Supreme Court today has agreed to list next week the bail plea filed by Surendra Gadling, accused in the Bhima Koregoan Elghar Parishad Violence case of 2018.
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Supreme Court to hear Surendra Galding’s bail plea on September 3

29/08/2025

The New Indian Express / by pti

On August 8, senior advocate Anand Grover mentioned the matter before CJI Gavai for an early hearing, citing his client Gadling’s over six-year-long incarceration.
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to list on September 3 the hearing on the bail plea of advocate Surendra Gadling, accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
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Also read:
▪ Supreme Court Judge Justice MM Sundresh Recuses Himself From Hearing Bail Plea Of Advocate Surendra Gadling (Free Press Journal / Aug 2025)
▪ In Surendra Gadling’s case, adjournment becomes the verdict (Frontline / Aug 2025)
▪ Villagers in Gadchiroli campaign to shut down Surjagarh iron ore mine (Land Conflict Watch / Feb 2017)

SC Justice MM Sundresh recuses from Surendra Gadling’s Bail Plea In 2016 Gadchiroli Arson Case

SC Justice MM Sundresh recuses from Surendra Gadling’s Bail Plea In 2016 Gadchiroli Arson Case

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Supreme Court Judge Justice MM Sundresh Recuses Himself From Hearing Bail Plea Of Advocate Surendra Gadling In Elgar Parishad Case

27/08/2025

Free Press Journal / by FPJ News Service

The plea was scheduled to be heard by a bench comprising Justice Sundresh and Justice N Kotiswar Singh. Earlier, on August 8, senior advocate Anand Grover had mentioned the case before Chief Justice BR Gavai, seeking an early hearing on grounds that Gadling has been in jail for over six-and-a-half years.
Supreme Court judge Justice MM Sundresh on Tuesday recused himself from hearing the bail plea of advocate Surendra Gadling, an accused in the Elgar Parishad–Maoist links case.
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Justice MM Sundresh Recuses From Hearing Surendra Gadling’s Bail Plea In 2016 Gadchiroli Arson Case

26/08/2025

Live Law / by Amisha Shrivastava

The matter will be heard by another bench.
Justice MM Sundresh of the Supreme Court recused himself from hearing the bail plea of Dalit rights activist and advocate Surendra Gadling in the 2016 Gadchiroli arson case. The matter was listed today before a bench of Justice Sundresh and Justice N Kotiswar Singh.
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Supreme Court Justice MM Sundresh recuses from Surendra Gadling bail case

26/08/2025

Bar & Bench / by Ummar Jamal

According to the details available on the Supreme Court website, the matter is not to be listed before Justice Sundresh.
Supreme Court Justice MM Sundresh on Tuesday recused from hearing the bail plea filed by lawyer and activist Surendra Gadling in connection with the 2016 Surajgarh arson case [Surendra Pundalik Gadling vs State of Maharashtra].
According to the details available on the Supreme Court website, the matter is not to be listed before Justice Sundresh.
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Justice M.M. Sundresh recuses from hearing activist Surendra Gadling’s bail plea after repeated adjournments

26/08/2025

The Hindu / by Aaratrika Bhaumik

Activist Surendra Gadling’s counsel had earlier apprised Chief Justice B.R. Gavai that his bail plea had been adjourned 11 times in the Supreme Court
Supreme Court judge Justice M.M. Sundresh on Tuesday (August 26, 2025) recused himself from hearing a bail petition filed by advocate and activist Surendra Gadling in connection with the 2016 Surjagarh iron ore mine arson case.
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Also read:
▪ In Surendra Gadling’s case, adjournment becomes the verdict (Frontline / Aug 2025)
▪ SC to consider listing bail plea of Surendra Gadling (Hindustan Times / Aug 2025)
▪ Will anti-Naxal drive pave way for mining giants? (New Indian Express / May 2025)
▪ How Long is Too Long? – On the Maximum Period that an Undertrial Prisoner can be Detained (Constitutional Law and Philosophy | by Hany Babu and Surendra Gadling | Oct 2024)
▪ When Push Comes to Shove: Tracking Judicial Recusals and Transfers (The Wire / Apr 2023)
▪ DISINHERITING ADIVASIS – THE GADCHIROLI GAME PLAN (KAFILA / June 2018)

In Surendra Gadling’s case, adjournment becomes the verdict

In Surendra Gadling’s case, adjournment becomes the verdict

Frontline / by Saurav Das

In the shadow of Bhima Koregaon, the Supreme Court lets delay speak louder than justice.
Surendra Gadling’s bail application has become a Kafkaesque file in the Supreme Court. It appears on the cause list, only to vanish. It is mentioned, only to be deferred. It is scheduled, only to be adjourned. The judge presiding over it, Justice M.M. Sundresh, has turned the very act of not hearing into a form of adjudication.
The bail plea has been listed 17 times since it was first filed in August 2023.
Read more

Also read:
▪ SC to consider listing bail plea of Surendra Gadling (Hindustan Times / Aug 2025)
▪ How Long is Too Long? – On the Maximum Period that an Undertrial Prisoner can be Detained (Constitutional Law and Philosophy | by Hany Babu and Surendra Gadling | Oct 2024)
▪ Surendra Gadling’s Computer Was Attacked, Incriminating Documents Planted: Arsenal Consulting (The Wire / July 2021)
▪ Gadling in jail. Reason? As lawyer-activist he has been ‘unpleasant’ to India’s topcops (Counterview / Dec 2020)

Supreme Court Agrees For Early Listing Of Surendra Gadling’s Bail Plea

Supreme Court Agrees For Early Listing Of Surendra Gadling’s Bail Plea

Surendra Gadling

Supreme Court Agrees For Early Listing Of Surendra Gadling’s Bail Plea

08/08/2025

Live Law / by Anmol Kaur Bawa

The Supreme Court today (August 8) accepted a request for early hearing of the bail plea by Dalit rights activist and advocate Surendra Gadling in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case under the UAPA over alleged Maoist links.
Sr Advocate Anand Grover, appearing for Gadling, mentioned the matter before the bench of CJI BR Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria.
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SC to consider listing bail plea of Surendra Gadling

08/08/2025

Hindustan Times / by PTI

The Supreme Court on Friday took note of repeated adjournments and assured early listing of the bail plea of advocate Surendra Gadling accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria was urged by his counsel and senior advocate Anand Grover, who said his client had been in jail for “6.5 years”.
Read more

Also read:
▪ How Long is Too Long? – On the Maximum Period that an Undertrial Prisoner can be Detained (Constitutional Law and Philosophy | by Hany Babu and Surendra Gadling | Oct 2024)
▪ Surendra Gadling’s Computer Was Attacked, Incriminating Documents Planted: Arsenal Consulting (The Wire / July 2021)
▪ Gadling in jail. Reason? As lawyer-activist he has been ‘unpleasant’ to India’s topcops (Counterview / Dec 2020)

When Najeeb meets Watali – On the statutory restrictions on grant of bail under UAPA

When Najeeb meets Watali – On the statutory restrictions on grant of bail under UAPA

Constitutional Law and Philosophy / by Hany Babu and Surendra Gadling

This is a guest post by Hany Babu and Surendra Gadling, who have been detained in prison as “undertrials” since 2020 and 2018, respectively. This piece is being published here simultaneously with The Proof of Guilt blog.

The judgement in the case of  (2019) 5 SCC 1 [“Watali] was delivered by the Supreme Court on 02.04.2019. Ever since then, procuring bail for a person accused of an offence under Chapters IV or VI of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) has been, to borrow an illustrative simile used by Abhinav Sekhri, like asking a person to swim after throwing him in deep water with both his hands tied behind him.
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Also read:
▪ The Grammar of the Power to Arrest and Search under UAPA (Constitutional Law and Philosophy | by Hany Babu and Surendra Gadling | Jul 2025)
▪ How Long is Too Long? – On the Maximum Period that an Undertrial Prisoner can be Detained (Constitutional Law and Philosophy | by Hany Babu and Surendra Gadling | Oct 2024)
▪ Why the SC Judgment Granting Bail to Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira Is So Significant (The Wire / Jul 2023)
▪ UAPA – CRIMINALISING DISSENT AND STATE TERROR – Study of UAPA Abuse in India, 2009-2022 (PUCL / Sep 2022). Download report

Daring, Fearless and Kind, Father Stan Swamy Remains a Beacon of Resistance

Daring, Fearless and Kind, Father Stan Swamy Remains a Beacon of Resistance

The Wire / by Hany Babu, Jyoti Jagtap, Mahesh Raut, Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor, Sagar Gorkhe, Surendra Gadling

On the fourth anniversary of Father Stan’s death due to alleged medical negligence in prison, his co-defendants in jail have vowed to lead a hunger strike.
On July 5, 2021, Father Stan Swamy left us, succumbing to failing health aggravated by the deliberate denial of medical care by a repressive state as part of its devious strategy in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case. Four years have passed since this institutional murder of Father Stan. We seethe in indignation on the very memory of this day, when the real, violent, blood-thirsty face of the state unravelled to one and all.
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