Mumbai: Human rights’ activist and lawyer Sudha Bhardwaj, arrested in connection with the Elgar Parishad case, has moved the Bombay high court to seek bail. Bhardwaj has challenged the decision of a Pune court rejecting her bail plea in October last year. Her counsel told the bench that the Pune court, while denying bail to her, relied upon four letters produced as incriminating evidence by the Pune police. The court will hear her bail application on February 18.

Justice N.W. Sambre was hearing a petition where Bhardwaj challenged the decision of the Pune court rejecting her bail plea in October last year. Advocate Yug Chaudhary told the bench that the Pune court, while denying bail to Bhardwaj, relied upon four letters produced as incriminating evidence by the Pune police.

However, advocate Chaudhary said that he wanted to show to the high court that the letters could not be accepted as admissible evidence under the Indian Evidence Act.

Bhardwaj was arrested along with several other activists by the Pune police last year. She and the others were booked following an Elgar Parishad event on December 31, 2017, which, the police alleged, triggered violent clashes the next day at Bhima-Koregaon village in Pune district of Maharashtra.

According to the police, the event was funded and supported by Maoists. At the event, some activists made inflammatory speec-hes and provocative statements that contributed to the January 1 violence, they said. The Pune police also alleged that Bhardwaj played a role in mobilising party cadres and funds for the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).