Submit case laws on plea filed by Gadling, others: HC to govt

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Wednesday asked the state government to submit case laws by Monday on the petition filed by advocate Surendra Gadling claiming his custody to be illegal. The police had arrested Gadling and others in June while probing the alleged Maoist connection with the Elgar Parishad and conclave held in Pune on December 31 last year. According to Gadling, the prosecution has failed to follow the procedure to get an extension of time for filing a chargesheet against him and, as a result, his custody becomes illegal and he is entitled to be released and four others.

Justice Mridula Bhatkar was hearing petition filed by advocate Surendra Pundalik Gadling and others claiming that their detention should be declared as illegal and they should be released with immediate effect.

Gadling’s counsel R. Sathyanarayanan along with advocate Arif Siddiqui contended before the court that the petitioner is arrested under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and as per provisions of UAPA the police is supposed to file chargesheet within 90 days. It was further argued that if in any case the police wants additional time to file chargesheet than the public prosecutor should file an application before the trial court giving specific reasons for seeking more time and also it should mention the progress made in the probe.

The Bombay high court on Wednesday asked the state government to submit case laws by Monday on the petition filed by advocate Surendra Gadling claiming his custody to be illegal. The police had arrested Gadling and others in June while probing the alleged Maoist connection with the Elgar Parishad and conclave held in Pune on December 31 last year. According to Gadling, the prosecution has failed to follow the procedure to get an extension of time for filing a chargesheet against him and, as a result, his custody becomes illegal and he is entitled to be released and four others.

Justice Mridula Bhatkar was hearing petition filed by advocate Surendra Pundalik Gadling and others claiming that their detention should be declared as illegal and they should be released with immediate effect.

Gadling’s counsel R. Sathyanarayanan along with advocate Arif Siddiqui contended before the court that the petitioner is arrested under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and as per provisions of UAPA the police is supposed to file chargesheet within 90 days. It was further argued that if in any case the police wants additional time to file chargesheet than the public prosecutor should file an application before the trial court giving specific reasons for seeking more time and also it should mention the progress made in the probe.