Assam: Supreme Court revives CAA case against Sivasagar MLA Akhil Gogoi, grants bail

The Supreme Court on April 18 has upheld the revival of a case against Akhil Gogoi, a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Assam, in connection with the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that took place in 2019.  The Supreme Court bench, comprising of Justices V Ramasubramanian and Pankaj Mithal, affirmed the decision of the Gauhati High Court which had set aside Gogoi's discharge in the case. 

Gogoi, a prominent peasant leader and activist, had been charged with various offenses, including alleged ties to Maoist groups, in relation to the December 2019 protests against the CAA.

The charges against him included provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Sedition (Section 124A) of the Indian Penal Code, and promoting enmity between religious groups (Section 153A) and Statement against national integration (Section 153B) under the Indian Penal Code. 

On March 20, the Supreme Court had reserved its verdict on Gogoi's appeal against the high court order. During the proceedings, senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, representing Gogoi, had argued that there were no allegations of him abusing his liberties while out on bail following the discharge order. 

On the other hand, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the National Investigation Agency (NIA), had countered by stating that the CPI (Maoist), which Gogoi is accused of sending cadre for warfare training, is not a political party.  Additionally, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, with the assistance of advocate Kanu Agrawal, had emphasized that the charges under the UAPA were not related to peaceful bandhs or shutdowns, but were instead for the more serious offenses of using terrorist methods and waging war against an elected government. 

However, the Supreme Court granted bail to Gogoi during the pendency of the case, allowing him to remain free. Gogoi took to Facebook to announce the news, stating "I was granted bail in the case today by the Supreme Court of India. I am free now. I will now play a stronger role as an Opposition."

It's worth noting that Gogoi had previously been discharged of all charges by a special NIA court in Guwahati in July 2021, which stated that his speeches did not incite violence and instead urged people not to resort to violence.