A special National Investigation Agency court in Mumbai on Thursday rejected a plea by 85-year-old activist and poet Varavara Rao, who is out on bail in the Bhima Koregaon case, seeking permission to travel to Hyderabad for two months for a dental surgery, The Indian Express reported.

The court held that a “satisfactory reason” had not been presented to justify the request and noted that adequate and affordable treatment was available in Mumbai.

Rao was arrested in August 2018 from his Hyderabad residence and is out on medical bail that was granted to him by the Supreme Court in August 2022.

On Thursday, he had sought the court’s permission to travel outside the jurisdiction of the trial court as mandated by his bail conditions.

In his application, Rao cited high treatment costs in Mumbai and said that he preferred to undergo the dental procedure in Hyderabad as his daughter is an ophthalmological officer with the Telangana government, PTI reported.

Rao’s legal team also submitted medical documents to support the request.

However, the court found the documents insufficient to demonstrate the urgency or justify a two-month stay outside Mumbai, stating that the period was “too long”, The Indian Express reported.

Special Judge Chakor S Baviskar said that while the Supreme Court had shown “magnanimous humanity” in allowing the possibility of travel with court permission, the travel must be based on adequate reasons.

“Casually the applicant/accused is not expected to go beyond the jurisdiction of this court,” The Indian Express quoted Baviskar as saying.

The judge also noted that Mumbai has several dental hospitals operated by the municipal corporation, trusts and charitable institutions that provide high-quality and nearly free treatment.

“If according to this applicant/accused, his elder daughter is an ophthalmological officer with the Government of Telangana, through her contacts and/or financial support, dental treatment for the accused can be arranged over here i.e. in Mumbai itself,” the court added.

Rao is among 16 activists, academicians and lawyers who have been charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for their alleged role in instigating the caste violence at Bhima Koregaon near Pune in January 2018.

An Elgar Parishad event took place in Pune on December 31, 2017, a day before violent clashes broke out between Maratha and Dalit groups near Bhima Koregaon.

The National Investigation Agency has alleged that the Elgar Parishad event was part of a larger Maoist conspiracy to stoke caste violence, destabilise the Union government and assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The trial in the case has not yet begun.

When the Supreme Court last year granted bail to two people accused in the case, it noted that the primary evidence cited by the National Investigation Agency – a batch of letters – was of “weak probative value or quality”. In addition, a digital forensics firm, Arsenal Consulting, concluded that false evidence had been planted on the laptops and devices of the accused.