Bhima Koregaon & Elgar Parishad Case: A Timeline of Key Events

Where the case stands today Inquiry commission

The inquiry commission’s report is due by 31 October 2026, and AiTimeline found no report that it has been submitted or published. This page will be updated only when submission is confirmed. In the Elgar Parishad conspiracy case, every surviving accused has been granted bail by a court, but charges had still not been framed when Surendra Gadling got bail in May 2026, and no trial had begun (Scroll; The Quint).

Gadling remained in jail as of the last report found, because his bail plea in a separate 2016 arson case was pending in the Supreme Court. No accused has been convicted or acquitted in the conspiracy case.

Inquiry commission finishes hearing witnesses Inquiry commission

The Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry concluded its hearings to record evidence, nearly eight and a half years after it was formed. Its lawyer, Ashish Satpute, said 58 witnesses had been examined, including NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar, VBA president Prakash Ambedkar, the then Pune police commissioner Rashmi Shukla, the then Pune rural superintendent Suvez Haque, the then district collector Saurabh Rao, and villagers from Koregaon Bhima and Vadhu Budruk. The commission had received more than 400 affidavits (The Indian Express, 18 September 2026).

A Home Department letter of 11 September gave it until 31 October 2026 to submit its report: the 23rd extension. The previous deadline was 31 August 2026. Lawyers for the parties have filed final arguments.

Court rejects NIA plea to cancel four activists’ bail Court order

The NIA had asked a Mumbai special court to cancel the bail of Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves, saying they breached bail conditions by attending a gathering at the Mumbai Press Club on 19 January 2026 with other accused. The agency claimed the meeting was meant to propagate the ideology of the banned CPI (Maoist). Special Judge Chakor S. Baviskar rejected the applications on Friday, 28 August: the accused already met inside and outside the courtroom during hearings, and “merely because a venue of the meeting/gathering of the accused changed, they cannot be said to have committed breach of the bail condition” (Scroll; Bar and Bench).

The order concerned bail conditions only. It did not decide whether the conspiracy allegations are true.

Surendra Gadling granted bail after nearly eight years Court order

The Bombay High Court granted lawyer Surendra Gadling bail in the Elgar Parishad case on grounds of prolonged pre-trial detention, noting the trial had not begun, and on parity, since 14 of the 16 accused had already been released. The NIA opposed the plea, citing the 2016 Surjagarh mine arson case in Gadchiroli (The Quint).

He stayed in jail because his bail appeal in the arson case was pending in the Supreme Court, where three judges had recused by July 2026; on 27 July, Kapil Sibal asked Chief Justice Surya Kant’s bench to list it before another bench (LiveLaw).

Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor granted bail Court order

The High Court granted bail to the two Kabir Kala Manch artists, arrested in September 2020, on the ground of parity: other accused had been released because of long incarceration and the unlikelihood of the trial starting soon. Conditions: a bond of ₹1 lakh each and attendance at the NIA office once a month. The court said that with this order, all accused except Surendra Gadling had been granted bail (The New Indian Express).

A gathering at the Mumbai Press Club Elgar Parishad case

Several accused attended a gathering at the Mumbai Press Club. In April the club suspended three members for having “facilitated” it, and on 1 May the NIA sought documents about it. A city civil court on 7 May stayed the expulsion of one member, Gurbir Singh, saying the action appeared aimed at preventing him from contesting club elections (Scroll).

Hany Babu granted bail after five years Court order

The High Court granted bail to the former Delhi University professor, arrested by the NIA on 28 July 2020, and refused the agency’s request to stay the order so it could appeal, noting he had been in custody for more than five years and seven months (Onmanorama). The NIA alleges he was a member of the banned CPI (Maoist); he denies it.

Supreme Court gives Jyoti Jagtap interim bail Court order

Jagtap’s counsel told the court she had been in custody for more than five years. The bench granted interim bail until the next hearing in February 2026. A special court had refused her bail in February 2022, and the High Court upheld that in October 2022, saying dialogue in Kabir Kala Manch plays “incited hatred and indicated a larger conspiracy” (LiveLaw). AiTimeline did not find a report of the February 2026 hearing’s outcome.

Mahesh Raut gets interim medical bail Court order

The High Court had granted Raut bail on the merits on 21 September 2023, but the Supreme Court stayed that order on the NIA’s appeal. In September 2025 a bench of Justices M. M. Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma gave him six weeks’ interim bail for rheumatoid arthritis, later extended to 26 November (LiveLaw). A January 2026 report describes him as out on bail; AiTimeline found no final ruling on the NIA’s appeal.

Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale granted bail Court order

Both had been in custody since June 2018. The High Court noted that charges were yet to be framed and that the prosecution had listed more than 300 witnesses (The Tribune).

Gautam Navlakha’s bail takes effect Court order

The Bombay High Court had granted Navlakha bail on 19 December 2023 and stayed its own order for the NIA to appeal. On 14 May 2024 the Supreme Court let the bail stand, saying the trial could take several years given the number of witnesses (Hindustan Times). Navlakha had surrendered on 14 April 2020 and was moved to house arrest in November 2022.

Shoma Sen granted bail by the Supreme Court Court order

The retired Nagpur University professor walked out of jail on 17 April 2024, twelve days after the Supreme Court granted her bail (Hindustan Times).

Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira granted bail Court order

The court said the allegations were serious but that did not mean bail could not be granted (Deccan Herald). Reports of the ruling say it described the letters relied on by the NIA as having “weak probative value or quality” (Scroll).

Anand Teltumbde granted bail Court order

The High Court granted bail to the scholar, who had surrendered on 14 April 2020. Eight days earlier, on 10 November 2022, the Supreme Court allowed Gautam Navlakha to be moved from jail to house arrest (Hindustan Times).

Sudha Bharadwaj granted default bail Court order

The High Court granted the lawyer default bail, a statutory right that arises when a chargesheet is not filed within the time allowed; it did not assess the evidence (Scroll; Hindustan Times). Varavara Rao, 85, had been granted medical bail by the same court on 22 February 2021; the Supreme Court confirmed his medical bail in August 2022.

Father Stan Swamy dies in custody Court order

The Jesuit priest and tribal-rights activist, arrested by the NIA in Ranchi on 8 October 2020, died in a Mumbai hospital, where he had been moved from Taloja jail; on 28 May 2021 the High Court had directed his hospitalisation (Hindustan Times; The News Minute). He denied the allegations. He died before trial, so there was no conviction.

Defence-commissioned forensic report alleges planted files Elgar Parishad case

Arsenal Consulting, a US digital forensics firm, concluded that files had been planted on the laptops and devices of accused persons (Scroll). The report was commissioned by the defence; the NIA has not accepted it, and no court has ruled on it.

Kabir Kala Manch artists and Stan Swamy arrested Elgar Parishad case

The NIA arrested Kabir Kala Manch members Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor and Jyoti Jagtap in September 2020, after Hany Babu in July. It alleged the cultural group was linked to the banned CPI (Maoist); the accused deny it (The New Indian Express; Hindustan Times).

NIA takes over the Elgar Parishad case Elgar Parishad case

The case was transferred from Pune Police to the National Investigation Agency weeks after a new Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government took office in Maharashtra (Hindustan Times; The News Minute). Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha surrendered on 14 April 2020 after the Supreme Court refused to extend their protection from arrest.

The NIA took over the conspiracy case. The violence investigation and the inquiry commission were separate and stayed with the state.

Pune Police file the first chargesheet Elgar Parishad case

Pune Police filed the first chargesheet in the Elgar Parishad case (Hindustan Times). Between late October and November 2018, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Varavara Rao were taken into custody after their house arrest ended.

Supreme Court declines an independent probe, 2 to 1 Court order

Historian Romila Thapar, economist Prabhat Patnaik and others had moved the Court on 29 August 2018, which placed the five arrested activists under house arrest. On 28 September a majority of the bench refused to interfere with the arrests or appoint a special investigation team (The News Minute).

Second round: five more activists Elgar Parishad case

Police raided homes in several cities and arrested lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, activists Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves and Gautam Navlakha, and the Telugu poet Varavara Rao (Hindustan Times; The News Minute). The Supreme Court converted their arrest into house arrest the next day.

First arrests under the UAPA Elgar Parishad case

Pune Police arrested Sudhir Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Shoma Sen and Rona Wilson (Hindustan Times; The News Minute). Police alleged links to the CPI (Maoist) and, citing a letter found in electronic evidence, a plot against the Prime Minister. The accused denied the allegations.

UAPA sections added Elgar Parishad case

Police added sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, saying they had collected incriminating documents in searches on 17 April at the homes of Rona Wilson in Delhi, Sudhir Dhawale in Mumbai and others (Hindustan Times).

Milind Ekbote arrested in the violence case Violence case

Ekbote, named in the 2 January FIR, was arrested after the Supreme Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea, and was granted bail by a Pune sessions court in April 2018 (Scroll). Sambhaji Bhide, named in the same FIR, was not arrested.

Maharashtra sets up an inquiry commission Inquiry commission

The state formed a two-member commission headed by retired Calcutta High Court Chief Justice J. N. Patel, with former chief secretary Sumit Mullick, to inquire into the “exact sequence” of events that led to the violence. It was first given four months (The Indian Express).

Second FIR targets Elgar Parishad Elgar Parishad case

On Tushar Damgude’s complaint, police registered a case alleging that Maoists and Kabir Kala Manch spread hatred through songs, plays and speeches at Elgar Parishad that led to the violence (Hindustan Times). This FIR grew into the Elgar Parishad conspiracy case.

First FIR names Bhide and Ekbote Violence case

Police registered a case alleging the involvement of Sambhaji Bhide, a former RSS worker, and his associate Milind Ekbote in the violence (Hindustan Times). An FIR records an allegation; it is not proof of guilt.

Violence near the memorial on the bicentenary Violence case

Clashes broke out as lakhs of Ambedkarites gathered to mark the battle’s 200th anniversary. Rahul Phatangale, 28, was killed; his family said he was not involved in Elgar Parishad. During a statewide bandh called by Prakash Ambedkar the next days, a 16-year-old Dalit boy died, allegedly after a police caning (The News Minute; The Indian Express).

Who was responsible is still contested. One side before the commission blamed Hindutva leaders Ekbote and Bhide; the other alleged the Elgar Parishad organisers instigated the violence.

Elgar Parishad held at Shaniwar Wada Elgar Parishad case

A coalition of more than 250 Dalit and other groups held the Elgar Parishad at Shaniwar Wada, the former Peshwa seat in Pune, to mark the bicentenary, with speeches and cultural performances. Speakers included Prakash Ambedkar, Jignesh Mevani and Umar Khalid (The News Minute; The Indian Express). Police later alleged the conclave was backed by Maoists; organisers deny it.

A dispute over a memorial board in Vadhu Budruk Violence case

A board giving the Mahar community’s account of Govind Gopal, whom it credits with performing the last rites of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj in 1689, was put up in Vadhu Budruk and led to an altercation. Marathas in the village credit the Shivale Deshmukhs instead. The dispute is seen as one trigger of the 1 January violence (The Indian Express).

B. R. Ambedkar visits the memorial History

Dr B. R. Ambedkar’s visit to the memorial began the tradition of Dalit groups commemorating the Mahar soldiers there every 1 January (Hindustan Times).

The Battle of Koregaon History

A small East India Company force of about 800, which included many Mahar soldiers, held off a far larger army of Peshwa Baji Rao II at Koregaon on the Bhima river; the Peshwa’s army is often put at 28,000 in total, of which a part attacked (The News Minute; Wikipedia). The Company later raised an obelisk, the Vijay Stambh, at the site.

For many Ambedkarites the battle stands for resistance to caste oppression under the Peshwas; historians also place it within the expansion of British colonial rule.