Bhima Koregaon case: SC to hear bail plea of professor Shoma Sen on October 4

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court postponed consideration of Professor Shoma Sen’s appeal of the Bombay High Court’s decision to deny her bail in the Bhima Koregaon case until October 4. In response to the National Investigating Agency’s (NIA) request, a bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and SVN Bhatti issued notice in the interim bail application submitted on medical grounds by Sen.

The Bombay High Court had in January directed Professor Sen to approach the special NIA court for bail before coming to the High Court.
Sen, an English literature professor, has been behind bars since 2018. She had applied for bail before the Pune Sessions Court in December 2018 prior to the filing of the chargesheet and another application after the chargesheet, however, both applications were rejected by the Sessions Court in November 2019.

Sen, a former department head at the University of Nagpur, then went to the Bombay High Court to request bail. The High Court, though, decided against releasing her on bail. Sen and others were arrested in connection with the caste-based violence that broke out in Bhima Koregaon, Pune, in 2018 and for allegedly having ties to the Communist Party of India (Maoists), an organization that has been outlawed, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.