Wilson, Dhawale Get HC Bail in '18 Koregaon Violence Case

The Bombay high court on Wednesday granted bail to Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale, two men arrested in connection with the violence in Bhima Koregaon in 2018, after noting their long period of incarceration and the unlikeliness of the trial concluding anytime soon.

- HT Correspondent

Wilson and Dhawale, arrested in June 2018, are likely to be released from Taloja jail in the next 2-3 days.

"They have been in jail since 2018 and even the charges in the case are yet to be framed. The prosecution has cited over 300 witnesses. Thus, there is no possibility of the trial concluding in the near future," the division bench of justices AS Gadkari and Kamal Khata said as it ordered the release of the two men on personal bonds of ₹1 lakh, and 1-2 sureties of the same amount each.

This is the first time when the accused were granted bail on technical grounds.

Advocate Rahul Arote, who represented Wilson, welcomed the order and said that as neither Wilson nor Dhawale had any other cases pending against them, they will be released from jail after the completion of formalities.

"Formalities for submitting sureties and bail bonds before the trial court (special NIA court) would require 2-3 days, after which the duo will step out of Taloja jail, where they are lodged," Arote said.