The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned the bail plea of human rights lawyer and Surajgarh arson accused Surendra Gadling for the 17th time since it was first filed in August 2023 [Surendra Pundalik Gadling vs State of Maharashtra]..The matter, now before a bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and K Vinod Chandran, was deferred after Additional Solicitor General SV Raju sought time, stating he was “not ready”. It will now be heard on September 17. .Gadling, a Nagpur-based lawyer, has been in custody since June 2018 in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case. The present bail plea arises from a separate case of arson in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, in which several vehicles carrying iron ore were set ablaze in 2016. The police alleged that the attack was carried out by members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). Gadling was arrested in this case in January 2019 while already in prison, as authorities feared his release on default bail..The Bombay High Court rejected his bail plea in February 2023. Gadling then approached the Supreme Court in August that year. Since then, his appeal has seen a consistent cycle of adjournments spread over two years. Six of the seven accused in the 2016 case have already been granted bail; Gadling remains the only one still in custody. .17 adjournments: A timeline.The first hearing took place on October 10, 2023, when a bench led by Justice Aniruddha Bose issued notice to the State of Maharashtra. The State was directed to file a response by November 29, 2023, but failed to do so. The deadline was extended in January 2024, and again in February when the case was adjourned to March 6. The matter was not taken up that day, and Justice Bose retired soon after..From July 2024 onwards, the case was handled by benches led by Justice MM Sundresh. On July 24, the State again sought more time to file its counter affidavit, and the court adjourned the matter to August. On August 21 and again on September 30, further extensions were granted for the State to file its counter. On December 4, 2024, the court granted what it termed a “last chance” to the State to file its reply, but the affidavit came only in January 2025.Even after the reply was filed, adjournments continued. On January 30, 2025, the State again sought time. On February 6, the bench asked Gadling’s lawyers to file additional documents and fixed the matter for March 27. On March 27, the State requested time to place further documents on record, and the matter was pushed by two weeks. It was not taken up again until July 18, when the bench adjourned the bail appeal to November 2025.In the meantime, Gadling’s counsel filed an application for early hearing. On August 26, 2025, Justice Sundresh recused himself from the matter after more than a year. The case then came before Justices JK Maheshwari and K Vinod Chandran on September 3, when it was again adjourned at the request of the State..The repeated adjournments mean that Gadling’s bail has remained undecided for over two years, even as his co-accused have secured relief. The case will now be heard by the Supreme Court on September 17..The long trail of deferments has left Gadling’s bail plea suspended in what can only be described as a labyrinth of judicial inaction. Charges in the Surajgarh case have not yet been framed, but he has already spent over six years behind bars. Each adjournment only deepens the perception that the State is determined to prolong his incarceration and that the Court has, by its silence, allowed the process itself to become the punishment.
