SC adjourns hearing on Surendra Gadling’s bail plea in Surjagarh iron ore mine arson case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday deferred, till the second week of January next year, the hearing on the bail plea of lawyer Surendra Gadling, who remains behind bars in connection with the 2016 Surjagarh iron ore mine arson case.

A bench, headed by Justice M.M. Sundresh, decided to adjourn the hearing after Gadling’s counsel submitted that the Maharashtra government filed its reply late on Tuesday and the petitioner side would need some time to go through the contents of the counter affidavit.

Acceding to the request, the bench posted the matter for hearing in the second week of January 2025.

The apex court was hearing a special leave petition filed by Gadling against the dismissal of his appeal filed under Section 21(4) of the NIA (National Investigation Agency) Act seeking bail.

In an earlier hearing, the top 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, explaining that the translation of vernacular documents was taking time.

Opposing the request, senior advocate Anand Grover, representing Gadling, had apprised the apex court that the Maharashtra government has sought adjournment on eight occasions so far.

Gadling has been behind bars for five years and ten months while the trial remains at a very nascent stage, Grover added.

Giving a fixed date after two weeks, the apex court had said: "A matter like this needs to be heard. This is not a normal case. We will give a fixed date. List after two weeks."

In October last year, 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.