Justice MM Sundresh of the Supreme Court has recused himself from hearing the bail plea of Dalit rights activist and lawyer Surendra Gadling in the 2016 Gadchiroli arson case. The matter was listed today before a bench of Justice Sundresh and Justice N Kotiswar Singh.

The bail plea challenges a Bombay High Court order that had refused bail to Gadling in connection with the December 2016 incident in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district.

Gadling faces charges under multiple provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Sections 307, 341, 342, 435, 323, 504, 506, 143, 147, 148, 149, and 120B; Sections 5 and 28 of the Indian Arms Act, 1959; Section 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act, 1951; and Sections 16, 18, 20, and 23 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA).

According to the prosecution, Maoist cadres allegedly torched over 80 vehicles transporting iron ore from the Surjagarh mines in Etapalli tehsil. Gadling is accused of directing others to carry out the arson to cause large-scale property damage.

The Nagpur Bench had earlier rejected his bail, holding that prima facie Gadling was not only representing CPI (Maoist) members as a lawyer but was himself a member of the banned organisation, based on letters and a seized hard drive.

In 2023, the Supreme Court bench of Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Bela Trivedi issued notice on Gadling’s plea. Gadling, arrested in June 2018 in the Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad case, was later booked in the Gadchiroli case in February 2019 and remains lodged in Taloja Prison.

The Bombay High Court in 2024 also dismissed default bail pleas filed by Gadling and activist Mahesh Raut in the Bhima Koregaon matter. Earlier, in December 2021, while Sudha Bharadwaj was granted default bail, Gadling and eight others were denied. Gadling’s challenge to that verdict is still pending before the Supreme Court. Notably, his bail plea in the Bhima Koregaon case was also listed earlier before Justice Sundresh’s bench.

Case No. – Crl.A. No. 3742/2023
Case Title – Surendra Pundalik Gadling v. State of Maharashtra