The Supreme Court granted bail to Elgar Parishad case accused Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira who are facing charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for alleged membership of the banned CPI (Maoist) and raising funds for terror activities among others.
Setting aside two judgments of the Bombay High Court denying them bail, a bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia said the charges against the two men were “no doubt serious” but that cannot be the only reason to deny them relief.
“Allegations against them no doubt are serious, but for that reason alone bail cannot be denied to them. While dealing with the offences under Chapters IV and VI of the 1967 Act (UAPA), we have referred to the materials available against them at this stage. These materials cannot justify continued detention of the appellants, pending final outcome of the case under the other provisions of the 1860 Code and the 1967 Act,”the bench said.