By Smritika Banerjee
The Bombay High Court granted bail to former Delhi University associate professor Hany Babu on 4th December 2025 after five years of his arrest. He was an accused in the Elgaar Parishad-Maoist links case. The ruling, given by a panel of Justices A. S. Gadkari and Ranjitsinha R. Bhonsale, was mostly based on the long period of imprisonment without trial.
Since his arrest on July 28, 2020, linguist and anti-caste academic Hany Babu has been held at Taloja Central Prison in Navi Mumbai. No charges have been filed, and the trial has not begun. Charges have not been brought, and the trial has not yet started. Yug Mohit Chaudhury, Babu’s counsel, had strongly argued that the inordinate delay warranted release, citing the fundamental principle against extended pre-trial.
Babu’s release upon furnishing a personal bond of ₹1 lakh along with sureties of the same amount has been directed by the court. Significantly, the High Court refused the request of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to stay the bail order to allow them time to file an appeal before the Supreme Court, pointing to the substantial period Babu had already spent in jail.
The Elgaar Parishad case related to allegedly offensive remarks made during a conclave in December 2017 incited violence the next day close to the Koregaon Bhima war memorial, according to the police. In the case, taken over by the NIA, well-known activists, attorneys, and professors are allegedly also involved in a plot to wage war against the government and advance the goals of the outlawed CPI organisation.
Babu is one of the few defendants who faced charges under the strict Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Anand Teltumbe, Vernon Gonsalves, and Arun Ferreira were among the other co-accused in the same case. They were granted bail in the ruling on grounds like medical issues or a review of the prima facie evidence. Human rights organisations around the world have taken notice of the case because of the UAPA’s application and the activists’ protracted imprisonment without charge or trial. We are presently awaiting the entire order that includes the court’s reasons.