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Activists arrest: Make case stronger if you want SIT probe, says Supreme Court

The court directed the state police to come prepared with all evidence on Wednesday.

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Sr advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi
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Continuing with the house arrest of the five activists arrested for alleged Naxal links, the Supreme Court on Monday made it clear that it will not order for a Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the case unless the evidence collected by the Maharashtra Police is found to be “cooked up”. The court directed the state police to come prepared with all evidence on Wednesday.

The tough condition set by a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra made the petitioners jittery. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing for the five petitioners led by renowned historian Romila Thapar took one-and-a-half hour to explain how the investigation adopted by the Maharashtra Police would shock the conscience of the Court. But at the end of it, the bench was left unimpressed. “Day after tomorrow make out a case on CrPC. We are protecting your liberty, as far as house arrest is concerned. So far you have not been able to make out a case under CrPC,” the bench told Singhvi. The bench allotted 20 minutes to Singhvi on Wednesday and requested a battery of senior lawyers appearing in support of the petitioner — senior advocates Rajiv Dhavan, Ashwini Kumar and Anand Grover to finish arguments in flat 30 minutes. 

From the other side, the bench allowed Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Tushar Mehta to present all the evidence within half-an-hour. ASG Maninder Singh appearing for the Centre and senior advocate Harish Salve appearing for the complainant assured to complete within 10 minutes each. The bench, also comprising Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, said, “If we see the material and we find its some kind of cooked up material, we shall consider appointing SIT.”

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