Bhima Koregaon Case: Navlakha, Teltumbde Get Relief from HC

The Bombay High Court extended till 10 Jan the interim protection from arrest granted to activist Gautam Navlakha.

File photo of Gautam Navlakha.

(Photo: The Quint)

The Bombay High Court on Friday, 14 December, extended till 10 January the interim protection from arrest granted to activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case.

A bench of Justices BP Dharmadhikari and Sarang Kotwal also restrained police from arresting activist and co-accused Anand Teltumbde till 17 December.

The bench said it will hear in detail the arguments on Teltumbde's petition seeking quashing of the FIR.

The court, however, refused to grant any interim relief to activist Stan Swamy who too has been named in the FIR but is yet to be arrested.

Pune Police, who are probing the case, informed the court that Swamy was still being treated as a "suspect" and not an accused. In that case, he could not be granted any protection, the judges had said.

Navlakha, Teltumbde and Swamy had moved the high court seeking that the FIR against them be quashed.

Navlakha was arrested in August this year along with Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves.

Police alleged that they had links with the Maoists who had backed the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on 31 December 2017.

Inflammatory speeches at the Elgar Parishad conclave led to violence at the Bhima Koregaon war memorial in Pune district the next day, the police claimed.

The Delhi High Court, however, ordered Navlakha's release. The other four got temporary relief from the Supreme Court, which directed police to put them under house arrest while it heard petitions opposing the action against them.

Later, as the SC refused to stop the probe, they were taken into custody by Pune Police.

In October, another FIR was registered by Pune Police in the same case, naming eight more activists including Teltumbdeand Swamy who are yet to be arrested.

The Maharashtra government has filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the apex court against the Delhi HC order in Navlakha’s case.

He informed the bench that the SC is slated to hear it on 10 January.

The bench noted that at the previous hearing, the state government had "given an impression to SC that he (Navlakha) would not be arrested till 10 January”.

It, therefore, dismissed the government's argument opposing interim relief for Navlakha.

"You gave a certain impression to the SC. We cannot override that," the judges said.

Prosecutor Aruna Kamat-Pai argued earlier that police had "enough material evidence" against Navlakha and hence he should not get interim protection.