NIA Court Allows Elgar Parishad Accused Varavara Rao To Travel To Hyderabad For Eye Surgery

Judge Rajesh Katariya allowed Rao to travel to Hyderabad between December 5 and 11 for the surgery on his left eye.

Judge Rajesh Katariya allowed Rao to travel to Hyderabad between December 5 and 11 for the surgery on his left eye. ( Image Source :PTI )

A NIA court in Mumbai has granted permission to activist Varavara Rao, an accused in the 2018 Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, to travel to Hyderabad for cataract surgery. On Wednesday, Judge Rajesh Katariya allowed Rao to travel to the Telangana capital between December 5 and 11 for the surgery on his left eye, news agency PTI reported.

While granting him permission, the court said that he must report to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on December 4 and furnish details of his journey and the address and contact number of the place where he would be staying in Hyderabad, as reported by PTI. The court also warned the activist against the misuse of the liberty granted to him.

Rao was arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist Links case in 2018 and granted temporary bail on medical grounds in March 2021 by the Bombay High Court. In August 2022, the Supreme Court granted him regular bail on medical grounds. One of the conditions in the bail order was that Rao would not leave the jurisdiction of the special NIA court in Mumbai without seeking permission from the court.

HC Allowed Rao To Travel To Hyderabad For Surgery Of Right Eye In October

Last month, the high court allowed Rao to travel to Hyderabad for a week to undergo cataract surgery on the right eye. According to PTI, a division bench headed by Justice A. S. Gadkari said that after returning, he could approach the trial court seeking permission to travel again for surgery on the other eye.

Talking about the case, Rao and many other left-leaning activists have been booked in connection with alleged provocative speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017.

According to the claims made by the Pune police, the conclave was backed by Maoists, and the speeches made there triggered violence near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial in Pune district the next day. The NIA later took over the probe into the case.