The Supreme Court on Friday refused to interfere in the arrest of five rights activists in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence case and declined to appoint a SIT for probe into their arrest.
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to interfere in the arrest of five rights activists in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence case and declined to appoint a SIT for probe into their arrest.
The three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, in a 2:1 verdict, refused the plea seeking the immediate release of the activists.
The top court found no fault in investigation of Maharashtra against the activists. It allowed the Maharashtra Police to proceed with investigation against accused activists.
Extending the house arrest, the court said that it will continue for another 4 weeks in order to enable the activists take recourse to legal remedies.
Justice DY Chandrachud dissented, again. Justice Chandrachud said that it was a fit case made out to constitute SIT. He says Maharashtra Police cannot be trusted with further investigation of the case.
The five activists --Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Gautam Navlakha-- are under arrest at their respective homes since August 29.
The plea by Romila Thapar, economists Prabhat Patnaik and Devaki Jain, sociology professor Satish Deshpande and human rights lawyer Maja Daruwala, had sought an independent probe into the arrests and the immediate release of the activists.
The Maharashtra police had arrested them on August 28 in connection with an FIR lodged following a conclave -- 'Elgaar Parishad' -- held on December 31 last year that had later triggered violence at Koregaon-Bhima village in the state.
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".
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.
(With agency inputs)
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