"Prima Facie Evidence Suggesting Deep-Rooted Conspiracy Of Extremely Serious Repercussions": Special Court On Stan Swamy's Bail Plea

Bombay Special Court in its order Stan Swamy vs State of Maharashtra, refuses to grant bail to Stan Swamy, the accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence.

“The collective interest of the community would outweigh the right of personal liberty of the applicant and as such the old age and or alleged sickness of the applicant would not go in his favour, so that the discretion to release the applicant can be exercised in his favour” opined the Special Court.

From the house search of accused persons, some incriminating letters have been seized, from which it can prima facie be gathered that there was deep rooted conspiracy of extremely serious repercussions, Court observed.

In this context, the court noted,

".....there is sufficient material available against the applicant and the co-accused. There are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation of commission of the offences punishable under Chapters IV and VI of the UAPA against the applicant is prima facie true. Considering the express bar imposed by Section 43D(5) of the UAPA, the applicant cannot be released on bail"

As far as the prayer made by the prosecution for initiating proceeding for contempt of Court against the author and publisher is concerned, this Court refrain from taking such action at this initial stage. It was cleared that such extraneous material is not required to be considered while deciding the application for bail.

The mere fact that the applicant was not present in Pune at the time of the Elgaar Parishad and that he has not been named in the FIR would not take his defence further. Considering the nature of allegations made against the applicant that he was the active member of the Terrorist Organization, such facts cannot be said to be sufficient to tilt the discretion in favour of the applicant.

Going by the background, the applicant along with other members of the banned organization hatched a serious conspiracy to create unrest in the entire country and to overpower the Government, politically and by using muscle power.

The Court also noted that the NIA produced material collected during investigation which showed that Swamy received Rs. 8 lakh for furtherance of CPI (Maoist) activities.

There is sufficient material available against the applicant and the co-accused. There are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation of commission of the offences punishable under Chapters IV and VI of the UAPA against the applicant is prima facie true.

Considering the express bar imposed by Section 43D(5) of the UAPA, the applicant cannot be released on bail.

Case Title: Fr Stan Swamy v. The State of Maharashtra ( through NIA)