New Delhi, Aug 26 (IANS) Justice M.M. Sundresh of the Supreme Court on Tuesday recused himself from hearing the bail plea of lawyer Surendra Gadling, who has been in jail in connection with the 2016 Surjagarh iron ore mine arson case.

As per the computerised case status, the matter is tentatively listed for hearing on September 1 before a Bench not comprising Justice Sundresh.

The apex court is hearing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Gadling against the dismissal of his appeal filed under Section 21(4) of the NIA (National Investigation Agency) Act seeking bail.

In 2023, the Supreme Court had agreed to examine Gadling’s plea and called for a response from the Maharashtra government.

The anti-terror agency charged Gadling for allegedly entering into a criminal conspiracy with Maoist rebels to set ablaze 76 trucks which were carrying iron ore from Surajgarh mines in Maharashtra.

He is further alleged to be involved in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgaar Parishad violence – where clashes erupted between various caste groups after “provocative” speeches were given by the activists of Kabir Kala Manch on December 31, 2017, in Pune.

Gadling had claimed that he is a criminal law practitioner with over 25 years of practice and was falsely implicated in the case, adding that there is no prima facie case against him and the evidence brought on record by the prosecution is neither reliable nor admissible.

In an earlier hearing, the Supreme Court had granted the Maharashtra government two weeks’ time to file its reply to Gadling’s bail plea.

The counsel representing the state government had sought a “last chance” to file the counter-affidavit in the matter, citing delays in translating vernacular documents.

Subsequently, when the matter came up before the Bench led by Justice Sundresh, the proceedings were adjourned until the second week of January 2025 after Gadling’s counsel submitted that the petitioner side would require some time to go through the contents of the counter affidavit filed by the Maharashtra government.

–IANS

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