Supreme Court to hear bail plea of Bhima Koregaon, accused Surendra Gadling, on October 14
File photo of Surendra Gadling addressing the media during a crackdown by the Pune Police at Misal Layout residence in Nagpur. | Photo credit: S. Sudarshan
The Supreme Court on Tuesday (September 1, 2026) said it will hear on October 14 the bail plea filed by advocate and activist Surendra Gadling in connection with the 2016 Surjagarh iron ore mine arson case.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for Mr Gadling, told the court of Vikram Nath, Augustine George Masih and Sandeep Mehta that his client had been jailed for more than seven years. He pointed out that Mr. Gadling was also an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist nexus case and she was already out on bail in that case.
“Another case was filed against him at the same time,” Mr. Sibal said.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the Maharashtra government, urged the Bench to list the matter on another day so that a detailed hearing could be conducted.
“I have to point out the evidence against him,” said Mr. Raju.
Attack on mine vehicles
The current bail plea stems from the 2016 Surjagarh arson case in which several vehicles carrying iron ore from the Surjagarh mines in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra were allegedly set on fire by persons associated with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).
Mr. Gadling has been lodged in Taloja Central Jail since June 2018 following his arrest in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist nexus case. The prosecution alleges that provocative speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune on December 31, 2017 sparked violence near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial the next day.
He was subsequently arrested in February 2019 in connection with the Surjagarh arson case. On 31 January 2023, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court rejected his bail plea, saying that the allegations regarding his membership in the banned Maoist organization appeared prima facie true. He subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court, which issued a notice of his motion on October 10, 2023.
The bail application has since faced repeated delays, including rejection by Supreme Court judges. Most recently, Justice Shree Chandrashekhar recused himself from hearing the matter on July 21, 2026, the third such refusal by a Supreme Court judge in the previous year. No reasons for refusal were specified.
Earlier, on August 8, 2025, senior advocate Anand Grover, who also appeared for Mr. Gadling, urged the then Chief Justice of India BR Gavai to list the matter urgently, citing his long imprisonment. He pointed out that the bail application was repeatedly postponed, also because the prosecution sought additional time to file a counter-affidavit.
Published – 01 Sep 2026 22:09 IST