Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing on the anticipatory bail plea filed by Bhima Koregaon Case accused Anand Teltumbde till February 11.
The matter was being heard in the court of Justice Nitin W. Sambre which posted the matter for hearing on February 11.
During the course of the hearing, Public Prosecutor Aruna Pai sought time from the court to file a detailed affidavit to oppose the anticipatory bail plea application.
The Public Prosecutor raised two points to oppose this plea.
Firstly, under section 43 D (4) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) it is made clear that there is no provision of anticipatory bail application under UAPA.
Under 43 (D) (4) Nothing in section 438 (anticipatory bail) of the Code of Criminal Procedure shall apply in relation to any case involving the arrest of any person accused of having committed an offence punishable under this Act.
Secondly, Pai said that the High Court and the Supreme Court has already rejected the petition seeking to quash an FIR against him.
Teltumbde’s counsel replying to the grounds presented by Public Prosecutor Pai said, “There is protection from arrest in an order given by Supreme court till 11th.”
After hearing both the sides, Justice Sambre asked the prosecutor to make a statement that Teltumbde
The activist who is an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case filed an anticipatory bail application in the Bombay High Court on Monday. Teltumbde, whose anticipatory bail plea was earlier rejected by a Pune sessions court, was later granted interim protection by the Supreme Court for four weeks, which ends on February 11.
On Saturday, Pune Police had arrested Teltumbde from Mumbai after the sessions court on Friday rejected an anticipatory bail of the activist and professor. He was kept at Ville Parle police station in Mumbai.
Labelling the arrest as illegal, the sessions court, on Saturday, ordered the release of Teltumbde. “As per the Supreme Court order, activist Teltumbde has interim protection till February 11. Meanwhile, he can approach the competent authority which includes the sessions court, the high court and the Supreme Court for bail/pre-arrest bail,” the sessions court observed.
In November last year, the Pune Police filed a charge sheet in the Pune Sessions Court in connection with the case.
In its charge sheet, the police alleged that the “entire campaigning for Elgaar Parishad and speeches delivered at Elgaar Parishad has aggravated the Bhima Koregaon violence.”
During the course of the investigation, the police examined around 80 witnesses. The charge sheet further states that a letter recovered from one of the arrested accused revealed that a conspiracy was being framed to plan a Rajiv Gandhi-like assassination to take down Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On January 1 last year, violence had erupted during the 200th-anniversary celebrations of Bhima-Koregaon battle, leaving one dead and several injured.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]