Bombay High Court Grants Bail to Former DU Professor Hany Babu in Bhima Koregaon Case

Bail Granted to Hany Babu

On Thursday, the Bombay High Court approved bail for Hany Babu, a former professor at Delhi University, who is implicated in the Bhima Koregaon case. Babu had been incarcerated for over five years after his arrest in July 2020 under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

The decision was made by a division bench consisting of Justices AS Gadkari and Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale, with a detailed order expected to follow.

In May 2024, Babu had retracted his bail petition from the Supreme Court, opting instead to file a new request with the High Court due to evolving circumstances. He pointed out that eight other accused individuals had already received bail from both the Supreme Court and the High Court.

During the High Court proceedings, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh argued that Babu had not served as much time in prison as his co-accused, Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale. Singh maintained that the length of Babu's incarceration alone should not warrant bail.

The Bhima Koregaon case revolves around the violence that erupted in Bhima Koregaon village near Pune on January 1, 2018, following the Elgar Parishad event commemorating the 200th anniversary of the battle of Bhima Koregaon. This incident resulted in one fatality and numerous injuries.

The National Investigation Agency has claimed that the Elgar Parishad was part of a broader Maoist plot aimed at inciting caste violence, undermining the central government, and planning the assassination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Babu has been accused of being affiliated with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and participating in the alleged conspiracy against Modi.

A June 2022 article in a prominent magazine reported that the Pune Police had purportedly hacked into electronic devices belonging to Babu and two other accused individuals, Wilson and Varavara Rao, and planted fabricated evidence on them.