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Prolonged incarceration without trial amounts to infringement of the right to life under the Constitution, the Bombay high court said while urging a special court to expedite the trial in the 2018 Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
The high court said the special court shall frame charges in nine months.
Framing of charge is the first step towards the start of the trial.
A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Kamal Khata on January 8 granted bail to researcher Rona Wilson and activist Sudhir Dhawale considering their long incarceration and unlikelihood of the trial being completed in the near future.
In its detailed order, made available on Tuesday, the bench said it was a settled and recognised principle of law that the prolonged incarceration of the accused without trial amounts to infringement or violation of Article 21 of the Constitution.
"That, long period of incarceration and unlikelihood of the trial being completed in the near future necessitates consequential release of the undertrial on bail," the bench said.
The high court noted that Wilson and Dhawale have already spent over six years in jail pre-trial.
"We request the Special Judge, (National Investigation Agency Act) to expedite the stage of framing of charge and as far as possible the trial itself. The stage of framing of charge be completed within a period of 9 months from today," the HC said.
The court had directed Wilson and Dhawale to submit a surety of Rs one lakh each.
With the order copy now available, the duo can approach the special court to complete their bail formalities after which they will be released from the Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai.
Wilson and Dhawale were directed by the high court to appear before the special NIA court during the trial, surrender their passports, and not to leave the city until the trial is over.
Ten out of 16 persons arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case, including Wilson and Dhawale, have secured bail so far.
Pune Police in 2018 registered a case alleging that the accused delivered provocative speeches at the Elgar Parishad conclave on December 31, 2017, triggering violence in Koregaon-Bhima in the district the next day.
According to police, the conclave was backed by Maoists.
The other accused who were granted bail include Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Anand Teltumbde, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Shoma Sen, Gautam Navlakha, and Mahesh Raut.
Raut, however, remained in jail after the NIA challenged his bail in the Supreme Court.
The special NIA court on Tuesday granted him interim bail for 18 days to enable him to appear for an LLB exam.
Stan Swamy, one of the accused, died in 2021 while in prison.
The NIA had taken over the probe from Pune police and filed a charge sheet.
The special court is yet to frame charges against the accused.
Wilson, arrested in June 2018 from his home in Delhi, was allegedly described by the probe agencies as one of the top brass of urban Maoists.
Dhawale was accused of being an active member of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist.
The NIA charge sheet, submitted in August 2021, stated that Wilson and other accused were active members of the banned terrorist organisation who wanted to establish a 'janata sarkar' 'via revolution supported by a commitment to protracted armed struggle to undermine and seize power from the state.
The accused were charged with over a dozen offences including promoting enmity between different groups, doing acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony, waging war against the government, and several sections under the stringent anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.