Supreme Court Verdict Today on Arrest of 5 Activists in Bhima-Koregaon Raids
The Pune police told the bench that it has recovered materials from the arrested activists which hints towards a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
New Delhi, Sept 28: The Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra will pronounce its verdict on the plea by historian Romila Thapar seeking the immediate release of 5 activists kept under house arrest following the raids by Pune police in connection to Bhima-Koregaon violence.
The activists - Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Gautam Navlakha -- are currently placed under house arrest. They were taken into custody on August 29, after the investigators found incrementing evidence to link them with the caste-based clashes in Pune's Bhima-Koregaon in January this year. Maharashtra Government Files Affidavit in SC, Says 'Those Arrested Were Planning Large-Scale Violence'.
The activists, who participated in the Elgaar Parishad event in Bhima Koregaon on December 31 last year, are accused of also being linked to the banned CPI (Maoist), which is involved in insurgency operations in several states.
The Pune police told the bench that it has recovered materials from the arrested activists which hints towards a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The CJI-headed bench had reserved the judgment on September 20 after counsel for both parties, including senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Harish Salve and Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, concluded their submissions.
The bench, that also comprised Justices A M Khaniwlkar and D Y Chandrachud, had asked the Maharashtra police to file their case diary pertaining to the ongoing investigation in the case.
The plea by Thapar has also sought an independent probe into the arrests and the immediate release of the activists.
The apex court had on September 19 said 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.
Senior advocate Anand Grover, Ashwini Kumar and advocate Prashant Bhushan had also alleged that the entire case was cooked up and adequate safeguards should be provided to protect the liberty of the five activists.
The apex court had also said that it may order an SIT probe if it found that the evidence has been “cooked up”.
(With agency inputs)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 28, 2018 12:31 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).