NIA Court Allows Activist Varavara Rao To Travel To Hyderabad For Cataract Surgery

The special NIA court in Mumbai has allowed activist Varavara Rao, an accused in the 2018 Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, to travel to Hyderabad to undergo cataract surgery.

A special NIA court in Mumbai has allowed activist Varavara Rao, an accused in the 2018 Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, to travel to Hyderabad to undergo cataract surgery. Judge Rajesh Katariya permitted Rao to travel to the Telangana capital between December 5 to 11 for surgery on the left eye.

Conditions Of Travel

Rao 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, the court said. The court also warned the activist not to misuse the liberty granted to him.

Background Of The Case

Rao was arrested in the case in 2018 and granted temporary bail on medical grounds in March 2021 by the Bombay High Court. The Supreme Court in August 2022 granted him regular bail on medical grounds. One of the conditions in the bail order was that Rao shall not leave the jurisdiction of the special NIA court in Mumbai without the court's permission.

Previous Travel Permission

Last month, the High Court had allowed Rao to travel to Hyderabad for a week to undergo cataract surgery on the right eye. A division bench headed by Justice A S Gadkari had said once he returned, he could approach the trial court seeking permission to travel again for surgery on the other eye.

Elgar Parishad Case

Rao and many other Left-leaning activists were booked in connection with provocative speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017. Pune police claimed that the conclave had been backed by the Maoists, and the speeches made there triggered violence near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial the next day. The NIA later took over the probe.