The Bombay High Court recently looked into the Elgar Parishad case from 2018 and said it’s not okay to keep people in jail for too long without a trial. They said that keeping people locked up like that goes against their basic right to live and be free. This happened on January 8th when the court gave bail to Rona Wilson a researcher and Sudhir Dhawale an activist. The court pointed out that the case has been going on for way too long and that they haven’t even started the trial yet.
The court ordered the special court handling the case to get things moving and to get the charges ready to go within nine months. They were worried about people being locked up before a trial even begins and said it doesn’t look like the trial will start anytime soon. The court wants to make sure that the legal process is fair and doesn’t leave people stuck in jail for ages when things are going so slow.
This case started with claims that some activists had connections to Maoist groups after the Elgar Parishad event back in 2018. The High Court showed concern about the way the case has been handled and how it has affected the people who are in jail. Giving bail to Wilson and Dhawale is not saying they’re not guilty but it’s about making sure they are not detained any longer than necessary without a proper trial.