Mumbai: The Pune police assured the Bombay high court on Tuesday that it would not arrest Dalit activist Dr Anand Teltumbde till February 11. The assurance was given after the government pleader sought time to file a reply on the pre-arrest bail application filed by Mr Teltumbde.
The police had booked Mr Teltumbde after the Elgar Parishad on December 31, 2017, which, according to police, resulted in violent clashes the next day at Koregaon-Bhima village in district Pune. The police have also alleged that him of being linked with Maoists.
Justice N.W. Sambre has posted the anticipatory bail (ABA) application filed by Mr Teltumbde for further hearing on February 12.
During the hearing, additional public prosecutor Aruna Kamat Pai, on behalf of Pune police argued before the court that under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) there is no provision for anticipatory bail. She also pointed out that in the recent past a division bench of the Bombay high court has already dismissed a petition filed by Mr Teltumbde seeking to quash FIR registered against him.
Advocate Pai said that since the court has already looked into merits of the case and hence this court too should reject his pre-arrest bail plea and allow the probe agency to conduct an in-depth investigation.
Mr Teltumbde’s counsel, Mihir Desai, argued that there were exceptional cases where ABA is filed. When Justice Sambre said that the prosecution is seeking time to file reply, he argued that the applicant could wait for the reply for a day or two as later there would be no protection from arrest.
The Pune police sought time to file reply till February 9. Following this, Advocate Desai contended that though the Supreme Court has granted his client relief from arrest till February 11, the Pune police had arrested him at 3.30 am on Feb-ruary 2 from Mumbai airport and hence the court should take an undertaking from the police that Mr Teltumbde would not be arrested before next date of hearing.
The judge deferred the hearing till February 12, when the police assured that no coercive action would be taken against Mr Teltumbde till then.
