Bhima Koregaon case: Mumbai court rejects NIA plea to cancel bail for four activists

by Bar & Bench / @barandbench (Aug 29):
A special Mumbai court today has rejected applications filed by NIA seeking cancellation of bail of four accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case.
The special judge held that mere presence at a gathering with co-accused does not automatically amount to a breach of bail conditions without concrete evidence of illegal activities.
Bhima Koregaon case: Mumbai court rejects NIA plea to cancel bail for four activists
30/08/2026
Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff
The agency claimed that Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves violated their bail conditions by attending a gathering in January.
A Mumbai court has rejected the National Investigation Agency’s application to cancel the bail granted to four activists in the Bhima Koregaon case, reported Bar and Bench on Sunday.
The investigating agency had sought that the bail granted to activists Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves be cancelled on the grounds that they had attended a gathering at the Mumbai Press Club in January along with other persons accused in the case.
Read more
Court Rejects NIA’s Plea to Put Elgar Parishad Accused Back in Jail
30/08/2026
The Wire / by The Wire Staff
There is no evidence that four accused persons in the case gathered earlier this year with a view to commit similar crimes, the court ruled.
A Mumbai court has rejected the National Investigation Agency (NIA)’s plea to put four individuals accused in the Elgar Parishad case back in jail on the grounds that they violated their bail conditions.
Special judge Chakor Baviskar on Saturday (August 29) ruled in four orders dealing with Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Sudha Bharadwaj and Vernon Gonsalves that there is no evidence they gathered at a function in Mumbai earlier this year looking to commit crimes similar to what they are accused of committing.
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NIA court rejects pleas to cancel bail of 4 Elgar Parishad case accused
30/08/2026
Hindustan Times / by Vikrant Jha
A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Saturday rejected the NIA’s pleas to cancel the bail of four Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case accused — Telugu poet-activist P Varavara Rao, lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj, and activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, for participating in an event at the Mumbai Press Club earlier this year
The court said there was no evidence to show that the gathering they attended was meant to propagate CPI (Maoist) ideology or advance the “Urban Naxal” movement.
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Elgar Parishad case: Court rejects NIA plea to cancel 4 activists’ bail
29/08/2026
India Today / by Vidya
The Special NIA Court in Mumbai rejected the agency’s plea to cancel bail granted to four Elgar Parishad accused, saying their mere presence at a Press Club gathering did not establish a violation of bail conditions or Maoist-linked activity.
A Special NIA Court in Mumbai on Saturday rejected the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) applications seeking cancellation of bail granted to activists P Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Arun Ferreira in the Elgar Parishad case, holding that the agency had failed to produce sufficient evidence to establish a violation of their bail conditions.
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Court refuses to cancel bail of 4 accused over Press Club gathering
29/08/2026
The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak
NIA failed to produce evidence that Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira met to further ‘Urban Naxal’ activities, court says
A special court on Saturday refused to cancel the bail of four accused in the Elgaar Parishad case, holding that the NIA had failed to produce evidence that their presence at a January gathering at the Mumbai Press Club amounted to a violation of their bail conditions.
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Also read:
▪ Mere communication with co-accused can’t warrant bail cancellation, court told (The Indian Express / Jul 2026)
▪ Charge of Maoist link in Press Club meet ‘mere assumption’ – Varavara Rao opposes NIA bail repeal plea (The Print / Jul 2026)
▪ NIA Moves to Cancel Bails of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in Elgar Parishad Case (The Wire / Jun 2026)
▪ Activist Sudha Bharadwaj Seeks All Evidence Cited By NIA In Bail Cancellation Plea (Times of India / Jun 2026)
▪ NIA Seeks Cancellation of Activists Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj Bail Over Mumbai Press Club Meet (The Wire / May 2026)
▪ Mumbai Press Club Suspensions Over Elgar Parishad Accused Visit Spark Row; NIA Inquiry Raises Stakes (The Wire / May 2026)











