Supreme Court Orders Hany Babu to Pursue Bail in Lower Courts or Revive His Appeal
The dismissal of his clarification plea by Justices Mithal and Varale shifts his case back to lower courts after five years of undertrial detention under UAPA.
Overview
- On July 16, the apex court refused to entertain a fresh bail clarification and granted Babu liberty to move the Bombay High Court, the special NIA trial court, or restore his withdrawn Supreme Court petition
- A bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and P B Varale ruled that withdrawing his earlier appeal did not entitle him to a direct hearing in the high court
- The NIA maintained that any fresh bail application must be filed before the designated NIA court under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act provisions
- Babu has been held at Taloja prison since his arrest in July 2020 over alleged Maoist links in the 2017 Elgar Parishad–Koregaon Bhima violence case
- Eight co-accused secured bail on grounds of trial delay, highlighting ongoing debates over prolonged undertrial detention in UAPA cases