Sudha Bharadwaj not entitled to default bail, Maha govt, NIA tell HC

The Maharashtra government told the Bombay High Court on Friday that a sessions court in Pune taking cognisance of the polices charge sheet in the ElgarParishad Maoist links case in 2018 did not cause any prejudice to the accused persons and therefore did not entitle Sudha Bharadwaj or her coaccused to default bailAdvocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni who was arguing on behalf of the state was referring to the contentions made in a plea filed earlier this year by lawyer and activist Bharadwaj seeking default bail in the Elgar caseHer counsel Yug Chaudhry had earlier told a bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar that Bharadwaj and her coaccused had been charged for scheduled offences under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act UAPA Chaudhry had said that only a special court could have taken cognisance of the case that was taken over by the NIA court in January 2020He had said KD Vadane the judge who had taken cognisance of the charge sheet was an additional sessions judge but had pretended to be a special judge and signed his orders as a special judge Such lapse entitled Bharadwaj to default bail Chaudhry had saidOn Friday however the Maharashtra government opposed the submissionCan it be said that just because cognisance was taken by someone who didnt have jurisdiction a person is entitled to default bail This cognisance aspect cannot make them Bharadwaj and her coaccused entitled to default bail Let us not make a mountain out of a molehill he saidKumbhakoni said the fact that a sessions court and not a special court took cognisance of the Pune polices case could be considered a irregularity but not illegalityIn the entire petition not a whisper that there is failure of justice or any prejudice is caused because of this cognisance Kumbhakoni saidThe NIAs counsel Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh too said the above fact did not entitle Bharadwaj and her coaccused to default bail He said there was no irregularity in the sessions court taking cognisance of the case until the NIA took overAll sessions judges are equal There is no greater or so it is merely a question of notification distinguishing them as so Singh said adding that ones right to default bail accrued if a charge sheet was not filed within 90 daysOnce the charge sheet is filed then the right to default bail goes away Whether cognisance is taken or not is not material to the fact that charge sheet has been filed Singh saidThe HC will continue hearing the plea on August 2This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever