One of the main accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon riots case has been granted bail by the Bombay High Court on Thursday. The ruling was passed by the division bench of AS Gadkari and Sharmila Deshmukh. 

Mahesh Raut secured bail in the Bhima Koregaon case, becoming the sixth person to do so, following Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao, Anand Teltumbde, Vernon Gonsalves, and Arun Ferreira. The court suspended its decision for a week as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) requested additional time to file an appeal before the Supreme Court. 

Raut was taken into custody in June 2018 and has remained imprisoned ever since. He decided to approach the High Court after his bail request was denied by a special NIA court in November 2021. He asserted his identity as a forest rights activist and mentioned his prior association with the esteemed Prime Minister's Rural Development Programme. He had also collaborated with the Gadchiroli Collector in the past. Additionally, it was pointed out that he completed his graduation at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in 2011, following which he pursued a fellowship focused on conflict zones.

Senior Advocate Mihir Desai and Advocate Vijay Hiremath, who represented Raut, made a plea for his bail, citing the principle of parity with co-accused individuals like Anand Teltumbde, Arun Ferreira, and Vernon Gonsalves. They argued that Raut had already spent more than five years in custody, and considering that the trial had not yet commenced, he should be granted bail. Raut's legal representatives also contended that the key evidence against him primarily relied on documents recovered from the computer of co-accused Rona Wilson, and not from Raut himself. Furthermore, they emphasized that these documents were allegedly unsigned by Raut, which raised doubts about his direct involvement.

Additional Solicitor General Devang Vyas, along with Advocate Sandesh Patil representing the NIA, opposed Raut's bail application, contending that the acts attributed to Raut were detrimental to society. They argued that it was not appropriate for Raut, who was charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), to seek bail based on constitutional grounds when his alleged actions were against the interests of the State, society, and posed potential threats to the unity, integrity, security, and sovereignty of India.

The counsel supporting the opposition to Raut's bail also presented evidence suggesting that the Communist Party of India (Maoist) had allegedly provided Raut, along with co-accused Surendra Gadling and Sudhir Dhawale, with ₹5 lakh.