The Bombay High Court has sought a response from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on a plea filed by P. Varavara Rao, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, seeking permission to relocate from Mumbai to Hyderabad. The 85-year-old Telugu poet, who is out on medical bail, has argued that he cannot afford to live in Mumbai.

A division bench of Justice Ajay Gadkari and Justice Kamal Khata on Friday (June 12, 2026) issued a notice, directing the NIA to file its reply within two weeks.

Mr. Rao, who has been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, has challenged an order passed by a special NIA court on March 16, which dismissed his application to reside in Hyderabad. In his petition document, Mr. Rao has stated that living in Mumbai is a financial burden he cannot bear.

The High Court’s notice comes after a series of judicial proceedings concerning Mr. Rao’s medical bail conditions. In 2022, the Supreme Court granted him bail on medical grounds. However, the top court had earlier refused to modify a condition that required Mr. Rao to seek prior permission from the trial court if he wished to leave the Greater Mumbai area.

According to court documents, Mr. Rao was arrested on August 28, 2018, and taken to Taloja jail in Mumbai in November 2018. In 2020, he was moved to a hospital as his health condition deteriorated. In February 2021, the High Court granted him medical bail for six months, which was extended periodically. On April 13, 2022, the High Court refused permanent bail but extended the temporary medical bail by three more months, asking him to surrender thereafter. The Supreme Court later extended the temporary bail until further orders while hearing his special leave petition.

The NIA has accused Mr. Rao and 14 other activists of furthering the agenda of the banned CPI(Maoist) and conspiring to overthrow the government. The agency has booked them under the UAPA based on letters and emails retrieved from their electronic devices. As part of the alleged criminal conspiracy, the NIA has pointed to the Elgar Parishad cultural event held in Pune on December 31, 2017. The agency has claimed that speeches at that event led to the caste violence at Bhima Koregaon the next day.

Mr. Rao and other accused have contended that most of them had not participated in the event or were not named in the first information report. They have also claimed that the electronic evidence was planted.