Bhima-Koregaon violence: Police can file chargesheet till December 1

New Delhi: In relief to the Maharashtra police, the Supreme Court on Monday granted it time till December 1 to file the chargesheet in Bhima-Koregaon violence case and ensure that the accused rights activists do not become entitled to statutory bail on account of non-filing of the probe report within the legally permissible period.

Under the Code of Criminal Procedure, if police does not file the chargesheet within 90 days in serious offences, the arrested accused become entitled for grant of statutory bail on the ground of delay. A Pune special court, on the expiry of 90-day deadline for filing of the chargesheet on September 2, 2018, had extended the time by another 90 days for filing the probe report in the case by taking note of the plea of the state police.

The Pune police had arrested lawyer Surendra Gadling, Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen, Dalit activist Sudhir Dhawale, activist Mahesh Raut and Kerala native Rona Wilson in June for their alleged links with Maoists under the UAPA.

A bench headed by chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi stayed the HC order, which had set aside the lower court’s verdict allowing extension of time to the police to file the probe report against the rights activists arrested in the case. The bench, also comprising justices S.K. Kaul and K.M. Joseph, issued notice to the rights activists on a plea of the  government, seeking their replies within two weeks, and stayed the operation of the HC order.