The apex court has asked the two to make themselves available for trial and to remain present during the hearings.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court Friday granted regular bail to tribal teacher Soni Sori and journalist Lingaram Kodopi in connection with a case in which they are accused of acting as conduits to receive protection money from Essar Group on behalf of Maoists.
A Bench of Justices S S Nijjar and A K Sikri also lifted the restriction on them from entering Chhattisgarh – a condition which was imposed on Sori and his nephew at the time of granting them interim bail in November last. The apex court has asked the two to make themselves available for trial and to remain present during the hearings.
After their arrest, the 36-year-old Sori and her activist-nephew Kodopi remained behind the bars for two years before being granted interim bail in November last year. The two have been acquitted in all other cases except the Essar-Maoists payoff case. Sori was in jail when her mother died last year. Her husband and co-accused Anil Futane reportedly succumbed to injuries he sustained in jail days after he was acquitted in August last year.