SC reserves verdict on arrest of 5 activists in Koregaon-Bhima case

The bench asked the Maharashtra police to file their case diary pertaining to the ongoing investigation in the case by September 24.

The Supreme Court Thursday reserved its verdict on a plea by historian Romila Thapar and others seeking the immediate release of five rights activists in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence case and an SIT probe into their arrest.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, reserved the judgment after counsel for both parties including senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Harish Salve and Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta concluded their submissions.

The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khaniwlkar and D Y Chandrachud, asked the Maharashtra police to file their case diary pertaining to the ongoing investigation in the case by September 24. It also asked the parties to file their written submissions by then.

The five activists --Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Gautam Navlakha-- are under arrest at their respective homes since August 29.

The plea by Thapar and economists Prabhat Patnaik and Devaki Jain, sociology professor Satish Deshpande and human rights lawyer Maja Daruwala has sought an independent probe into the arrests and the immediate release of the five activists.

The Maharashtra police had arrested the rights activists on August 28 in connection with an FIR lodged following a conclave -- 'Elgaar Parishad' -- held on December 31 last year that had later triggered violence at Koregaon-Bhima village.

The apex court had said on September 19 that it would look into the case with a hawk's eye as liberty cannot be "sacrificed at the altar of conjectures".

It had told the Maharashtra government that there should be a clear-cut distinction between opposition and dissent on one hand and attempts to create disturbance, law and order problems or overthrow the government on the other.

ALSO READ: SC extends house arrest of activists in Bhima-Koregaon case till Sept 19

Senior advocate Anand Grover, Ashwini Kumar and advocate Prashant Bhushan also alleged that the entire case was cooked up and adequate safeguards should be provided to protect the liberty of five activists.

The apex court had earlier said that it may order an SIT probe if it found that the evidence has been "cooked up".

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Bhima-Koregaon violence: SC extends house arrest of 5 activists till Sep 17

The court adjourned the hearing after it was submitted that senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who is representing the petitioners, was busy in another court.

The Supreme Court Wednesday extended the house arrest of five rights activists who were arrested in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence case till September 17.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud adjourned the hearing on the plea filed by historian Romila Thapar and four others to September 17 after it was submitted that senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who is representing the petitioners, was busy in another court.

Earlier, Singhvi appeared before the bench and submitted that the hearing on Thapar's plea be conducted after 12 pm as he has to appear in another matter.

The court was hearing the plea filed against the arrest of the rights activists -- Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Gautam Navlakha -- in the case.

The Maharashtra police had arrested the five activists on August 28 in connection with an FIR lodged following a conclave -- 'Elgaar Parishad' -- held on December 31 last year that had later triggered violence at Koregaon-Bhima village.

ALSO READ: Letter 'concocted' to criminalise me: Sudha Bharadwaj on Koregaon arrests

On August 29, the apex court ordered the house arrest of the activists, saying "dissent is the safety valve of democracy".

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How a pistol helped CBI establish link in Dabholkar, Gauri Lankesh killings

Apart from the connect established in the killing of Gauri Lankesh and Narendra Dabholkar, a link has also been established with the Nalasopara explosives case.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recovered the pistol used for killing Bengaluru-based journalist-cum-activist Gauri Lankesh while investigating the Narendra Dabholkar murder case, thus establishing a connection between the two murders.

The pistol was recovered from Shubham Surale, the brother-in-law of Sachin Andure, an accused in the Dabholkar murder case, who was arrested from Aurangabad by the CBI on August 18. Following the court hearing on Sunday, the CBI custody of Sachin was extended till August 30.

During the hearing, it was stated that Sharad Kalaskar, who was arrested by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in explosives recovery case from Nalasopara, will be handed over to the CBI after August 28 at the end of his custody, on grounds of the need for a joint interrogation of Kalaskar and Andure.

ALSO READ: Making sense of Lingayat vs Veerashaiva debate: What Gauri Lankesh thought

Apart from the connect established in the killing of Gauri Lankesh and Narendra Dabholkar, a link has also been established with the Nalasopara explosives case, the investigation of which led to Andure's arrest.

Meanwhile, the Defence lawyer has moved an application to book the CBI's Investigation Officer under contempt of court, alleging that he was not allowed to meet an accused in spite of the court order during the last hearing.

Narendra Dabholkar, who was the founder of Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmoolan Samiti (MANS), was shot dead on August 20, 2013, by bike-borne assailants while returning home from a morning walk while Gauri Lankesh was shot dead outside her Bengaluru residence on September 5 last year.

Article Source BS