SC rejects Romila Thapar’s review plea for release of activists

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 27

The Supreme Court has rejected a petition filed by historian Romila Thapar seeking review of its verdict refusing to release of five activists arrested for their alleged Maoist links in the Koregaon-Bhima violence case. The September 28 verdict had also declined their plea for an SIT probe into the charges.

A Bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud dismissed Thapar’s review petition on Friday but the order was uploaded on top court’s website on Saturday.

“We have perused the review petition as well as the grounds in support thereof. In our opinion, no case for review of judgment dated September 28, 2018, is made out. The review petition is accordingly dismissed,” read the order.

The top court had on Wednesday refused urgent listing of Thapar’s review petition.

Agreeing with the contention of Maharashtra Police that the accused had arrested on the basis of “cogent material and evidence”, a three-judge Bench headed by then Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra had by a 2:1 verdict said, “It is not a case of arrest because of mere dissenting views or difference in political ideology.”

“We are of considered opinion that it is not a case of arrest because of mere dissenting views expressed or difference in the political ideology of the named accused, but concerning their link with the members of the banned organisation and its activities,” the majority verdict of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice A M Khanwilkar said.

The majority had said the accused could not choose which investigating agency would probe the charges against them.

The court ordered that the accused will remain in house arrest for four more weeks during which they were at liberty to avail of legal remedies before appropriate judicial forums.

However, Justice DY Chandrachud had delivered a dissenting verdict in which he said, “Liberty can’t be sacrificed at the altar of conjectures.” He also pulled up the Pune Police for holding press conference and conducting media trial by leaking material to journalists.

The three-judge Bench had refused to interfere with the arrest of the five rights activists and said further proceedings against them would be decided on the merits of the case without being influenced by the observations of the apex court.

In a pan-India crackdown on August 28, poet Varavara Rao was arrested in Hyderabad, activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in Mumbai, trade unionist and lawyer Sudha Bhardwaj in Faridabad and Chhattisgarh and civil liberties activist Gautam Navlakha in Delhi for suspected Maoist links.

The raids were part of a probe into a conclave—‘Elgar Parishad’—held in Koregaon-Bhima near Pune on December 31, 2017, which had allegedly triggered violence the next day.

The Maharashtra Police alleged that the arrested activists were planning to carry out violence in the country and ambush security forces and the raids were part of a probe into a conclave—Elgar Parishad—held in Bhima-Koregaon, near Pune, on December 31, 2017, which had allegedly triggered violence the next day.

The Maharashtra Police had arrested the activists on August 28 in connection with an FIR lodged following the conclave ‘Elgar Parishad’ that had allegedly triggered violence later at Koregaon-Bhima village in the state.