New Delhi, September 19: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that it will resume the hearing of the Bhima Koregaon case on Thursday. The top court once again stressed on the importance of dissent in a democracy and said that "Institutions should be robust despite opposition." The apex court on Wednesday also said that it "can't stifle democracy at altar of conjecture."

Lawyer Ashwini Kumar, representing the accused in the case, said that the Supreme Court should ensure the liberty of persons against illegal incarceration. He also added that the criminal prosecution seems to be mala fide and arbitrary. Bhima Koregaon Case: Supreme Court Extends House Arrest of Five Accused Till September 19 After Heated Arguments in Courtroom.

Earlier, the Supreme Court on Monday had 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 had also added that the next hearing in the matter would take place on September 19 as the Central government said in the court that it wanted to produce the case diary and other evidence on that day. The top court said that it will continue the hearing on Thursday now. Check the ANI tweet below:

The bench comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Chief Justice Dipak Misra had observed that, "We entertained the case on the foundations of liberty. Issues like independent enquiry, etc, comes at a later stage."

Senior lawyer Maninder Singh, appearing for the Central government, had 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. Bhima Koregaon Raids: Supreme Court Orders House Arrest for Activists.

Those among arrested were Varavara Rao, Sudha Bhardwaj, Surendra Gadling, Rona Wilson, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves and Mahesh Raut. Bhima Koregaon Raids: Supreme Court Orders House Arrest for Activists. Bhima Koregaon Case: Arrested Activists Have Maoist Links, Planned to Target High-profile Politicians, Says Pune Police.

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.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 19, 2018 04:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).