Activist's interim protection from arrest extended

Mumbai: The Bombay high court Monday extended Dalit scholar Anand Teltumbde’s interim protection from arrest till February 22, and directed the Pune police to release him on a personal bond and surety in case he was arrested before the next hearing.

Last week, the Pune police was directed by Justice N.W. Sambre to file an affidavit, listing the grounds on which it opposed Mr Teltumbde’s anticipatory bail plea. Mr Teltumbde’s counsel Mihir Desai sought time saying he got the state affidavit on Monday.

In its affidavit, the police stated that the court must not grant protection from arrest to Mr Teltumbde because it had ample incriminating evidence against him and that the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act posed a bar on granting anticipatory bail to those accused under the Act.

Public prosecutor Aruna Pai also told the court that earlier last year, Mr Teltumbde filed another plea in the HC denying all charges against him and urged the court to quash the FIR against him in the case. However, another bench rejected the plea. Advocate Desai however has maintained that the law provides for anticipatory bail even under UAPA in “exceptional cases”.

The court Monday directed Mr Teltumbde to cooperate with the investigation and remain present before the investigating agency on February 14 and 18, and kept the hearing on February 22.

Mr Teltumbde is an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case registered by the Pune police following incidents of violence near Pune between December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2018. He has been booked on several charges including sections under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.