Overview
- Justice Atul Chandurkar stepped aside from hearing Surendra Gadling’s bail challenge, so the Chief Justice will now assign a new bench.
- An earlier recusal by Justice M.M. Sundresh had already moved the matter to Justice J.K. Maheshwari, with one sitting alongside Justice Vijay Bishnoi focused on fixing timelines.
- The petition before the Court is a special leave plea against the Bombay High Court order that refused bail under Section 21(4) of the National Investigation Agency Act.
- Judges have questioned why the trial has dragged for years, pointing to broken video links during Gadling’s production, the lack of a posted NIA court judge and a permanent prosecutor, and stalled access to large electronic records tied to the Bhima Koregaon case.
- Prosecutors say Gadling joined a Maoist plot that torched more than 70 iron‑ore vehicles near Surjagarh in 2016, and he denies the charges and remains in custody in the Bhima Koregaon case since 2018.