New Delhi, April 2 A judge of the Supreme Court on Thursday recused himself from hearing a bail plea filed by lawyer and activist Surendra Gadling in connection with the 2016 Surajgarh iron ore mine arson case.
Justice Atul S. Chandurkar, who was part of a bench headed by Justice J.K. Maheshwari, withdrew from the matter when it was taken up for hearing.
The development comes after an earlier recusal by Justice M.M. Sundresh in the same case.
Following the recusal, the matter is expected to be placed before an appropriate Bench, as per directions of the Chief Justice of India (CJI), who is the master of the roster.
The apex court has been hearing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Gadling challenging the rejection of his bail plea under Section 21(4) of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act.
During the previous hearing, a Bench of Justices Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi had adjourned the matter, indicating that timelines could be fixed to ensure that the trial does not suffer further delays.
The case pertains to the alleged arson incident in 2016, where 76 trucks transporting iron ore from the Surajgarh mines in Maharashtra were set ablaze.
The prosecution has alleged that Gadling was part of a larger conspiracy involving Maoist operatives. He has also been linked by the investigating agency to the Bhima Koregaon-Elgaar Parishad violence that occurred in Pune in December 2017.
On the other hand, Gadling has denied the allegations, contending that he is a criminal lawyer with over 25 years of practice and has been falsely implicated. He has maintained that there is no prima facie evidence against him and that the material relied upon by the prosecution is neither reliable nor admissible.
In earlier proceedings, the Supreme Court had issued notice on his plea and sought a response from the Maharashtra government. The hearing in the matter had seen multiple adjournments, including on account of delays in filing replies and translation of documents.
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