New Delhi, Jul 17 The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear next week the bail plea of advocate Surendra Gadling, accused in the 2018 Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was told by senior advocate Kapil Sibal that Gadling has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years and sought urgent hearing.
Sibal told the court that a notice regarding his bail plea was first issued in 2023, but the matter has witnessed recusals and asked the bench to list the matter urgently.
"Immediately we will list. In the next week or so," the bench said.
On August 8, 2025, senior advocate Anand Grover, for Gadling, had urged the then CJI BR Gavai for an early hearing, citing his client’s long incarceration.
"The bail plea has been adjourned 11 times in the Supreme Court," Grover had added.
Earlier, on March 27 last year, the top court had deferred the bail hearing of Gadling and activist Jyoti Jagtap in the case.
It also deferred the petition filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) challenging the bail granted to activist Mahesh Raut. Raut was granted bail by the Bombay High Court, but the order was stayed after the NIA sought to challenge it before the apex court.
Gadling was accused of providing aid to the Maoists and allegedly conspiring with various co-accused, including the ones absconding in the case.
He was booked under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, and the then IPC, with the prosecution claiming that Gadling provided secret information about government activities and maps of certain areas to underground Maoist rebels.
He reportedly asked Maoists to oppose the operation of Surjagarh mines, and instigated several locals to join the movement.
Gadling is also involved in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case relating to the alleged provocative speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune on December 31, 2017. The police claimed the speeches triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial in Pune district.
The high court had said Jagtap was an active member of the Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) group, which during its stage play at the Elgar Parishad conclave, gave not only aggressive, but highly provocative slogans.
According to the NIA, the KKM is a front organisation of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist).
The Bombay High Court had dismissed the appeal filed by the activist-cum-singer challenging a February 2022 order of a special court refusing her bail.
The 2017 Elgar Parishad conclave was held at Shaniwarwada, an 18th-century palace-fort in the heart of Pune city.
