Bhima Koregaon Case: Supreme Court Extends House Arrest of Five Accused Till September 19 After Heated Arguments in Courtroom

The Supreme Court on Monday extended the house arrest limit of five accused arrested by Maharashtra police for alleged links to naxals and their role in the Bhima Koregaon violence on January 1, 2018. The apex court also added that the next hearing in the matter will take place on September 19. The Central government said in the court that it wants to produce the case diary and other evidence on that day.

The bench comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Chief Justice Dipak Misra observed that, "We entertained the case on the foundations of liberty. Issues like independent enquiry, etc, comes at a later stage." Bhima Koregaon Violence: Maharashtra Police Seek More Time to File Chargesheet.

Senior lawyer Maninder Singh, appearing for the Central government, questioned the way the petitioners had directly approached the Supreme Court and said that the petitioners have the option to approach the lower court, high courts or even other legal options to seek redressal.

Singh also said that the menace of Maoists and Naxalites is increasing day by day, and it is these persons who are responsible for the increasing threat of the anti-social activities.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for most of the activists alleged of naxal link and Bhima Koregoan violence, submitted to the Supreme Court that the case should be properly probed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) or there should be a court monitored probe.

Singhvi told court that out of 25 cases against the accused, Varavar Rao was acquitted in all cases. Vernon Gonsalves, was acquitted in 17 cases out of a total of 18 and Arun Ferreira was acquitted in all the 11 cases. He also submitted to the Supreme Court that no accused was present in the programme of Yalgar Parishad and even the FIR does not have names of any of the five accused persons in the case.

Tushar Mehta, senior lawyer appearing for Maharashtra government, said that "The accused persons have not only been arrested for their alleged involvement in the case but they also seem to be disrupting peace in the country," reported news agency ANI. Mehta also claimed that the Maharashtra police has conclusive evidence against the five activist who have been accused in the case. Bhima Koregaon Raids: Maharashtra Government Files Affidavit in SC, Says 'Those Arrested Were Planning Large-Scale Violence'.

The bicentenary anniversary of the Bhima Koregaon battle took a violent turn on January 2 this year, when clashes erupted, killing one person and leaving several injured, including 10 policemen. Bhima Koregaon Case: Pune Police Gets 90-day Extension to File Charge Sheet.

On August 28, police teams from different states had conducted simultaneous raids at eight different locations. The raids were conducted in Maharashtra, Goa, Telangana, Delhi and Jharkhand in connection with the alleged death threat to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the Maoists. Bhima Koregaon Case: Arrested Activists Have Maoist Links, Planned to Target High-profile Politicians, Says Pune Police.

Those among arrested were Varavara Rao, Sudha Bhardwaj, Surendra Gadling, Rona Wilson, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves and Mahesh Raut.

On August 29, a day after the arrest of the activists, the Supreme Court directed that the human rights activists arrested across the country in connection with the Bhima-Koregaon incident in Maharashtra should be kept under house arrest and not in jail. Bhima Koregaon Raids: Supreme Court Orders House Arrest for Activists.

An apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra ordered house arrest on a petition by eminent historian Romila Thapar and four others challenging the arrests. Taking a dim view of the crackdown, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud had said that,"Dissent is a safety valve of democracy. If it is not allowed, the pressure cooker will burst."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 17, 2018 02:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).