The Supreme Court will hear on July 19 a plea by P Varavara Rao, one of those accused in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case, challenging the Bombay High Court order rejecting his appeal for permanent medical bail.

A bench headed by Justice U U Lalit on Tuesday also extended Rao's interim protection. The 83-year-old is currently on bail on medical grounds and had to surrender today.