Elgar case: Prolonged incarceration without trial; HC grants bail to Hany Babu

The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to former Delhi University associate professor Hany Babu, noting that he had spent more than five years in custody in the Elgar Parishad case without the trial beginning.

- MPOST BUREAU

The division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and R R Bhonsale directed his release on a personal bond of Rs one lakh and sureties of an equal amount.

The court, which had concluded hearings in early October, declined a request from the National Investigation Agency to stay the bail order so the agency could approach the Supreme Court. The bench said a stay was unwarranted given the time Babu had already spent in prison and the fact that the trial was “not likely to complete soon.”

Babu, whose full name is Hany Babu Musaliyarveettil Tharayil and who resides in Gautam Buddha Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, was arrested by the NIA in July 2020. The 59-year-old academic from the English department of Delhi University has been held in Taloja prison since then.