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NIA moves to cancel bail of Sudha Bharadwaj and Varavara Rao over Press Club attendance
India
Published on 15 May 2026
A Press Club event became their bail breaking point
The NIA has asked a special court to cancel the bail of activists Sudha Bharadwaj and Varavara Rao in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case. The agency alleges they violated bail conditions by attending a Mumbai Press Club event on January 19, despite restrictions including not speaking to the media and not leaving Mumbai without permission. The court has sought responses from both accused and will hear the matter on May 22. The case stems from speeches at a 2017 Pune conclave followed by violence near Koregaon Bhima.
- NIA filed a plea to cancel bail for Sudha Bharadwaj and Varavara Rao
- The alleged violation: attendance at a Mumbai Press Club event on January 19
- Their bail conditions included no media interactions and no leaving Mumbai without permission
- Bharadwaj received bail on technical grounds in 2021, Rao left jail a year later
- A Press Club response followed: three members were suspended two days after the event
- The special court will next hear the matter on May 22
Read the full story at The Economic Times
This summarization was done by Beige for a story published on 
The Economic Times