Elgar Parishad case: Give virtual lectures, HC tells Teltumbde

Teltumbde had moved the high court in March this year, seeking permission to travel to the Netherlands and the UK, from April 1 to May 15.

MUMBAI: Civil rights activist Dr Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon violence case, on Wednesday withdrew his plea seeking permission to travel to the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (UK) to attend academic assignments, after the Bombay High Court expressed disinclination to allow the plea.

Anand Teltumbde had moved the high court in March this year, seeking permission to travel to the Netherlands and the UK, from April 1 to May 15. (Kunal Patil/HT Photo)

Referring to the rejection of his discharge application from the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case by the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in May 2024, the division bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Ranjitsinha Bhonsale expressed its apprehension in permitting the activist to travel overseas.

“Now the circumstance is that the discharge application has been rejected. Therefore, there is an apprehension. We are not inclined,” said the bench, suggesting that Teltumbde deliver virtual lectures instead of pursuing pleas for foreign travel. The remarks prompted the activist to withdraw his plea.

Special NIA judge Rajesh J Katariya had rejected Teltumbde’s discharge application, observing that the material placed on record revealed his alleged involvement in the conspiracy and further disclosed “grave suspicion”. “Whether or not those allegations are true is a matter which cannot be determined at the stage of framing of charges. Any such determination can take place only at the conclusion of trial,” the special judge had said.

The plea contained details of the invitation from the Leiden Institute for Asia Studies, Leiden University in the Netherlands, Nottingham Trent University in the UK and three other universities in the UK, including the University of Oxford. Teltumbde had been granted permission to travel within the country in the past, but this plea marks the first time he had sought permission to travel abroad.

Senior advocate Mihir Desai and advocate Devyani Kulkarni, representing Teltumbde, informed the court that the invitation extended to him includes conducting seminars at several universities in future as well.

Advocate Chintan Shah, representing the NIA, however, opposed the plea, highlighting the agency’s apprehension that Teltumbde may abscond if given the chance.

The agency had termed him a flight risk before the trial court, and suggested that he should deliver the lectures online. The agency had claimed that an academician with such serious charges might seek asylum in another country, if allowed to travel.

“The lectures could also be delivered through online mode with a link to be shared with the NIA for monitoring his activities. Further, the plea is strongly opposed on the ground of likelihood of him absconding and thereby allegedly taking shelter in the said countries to avoid the judicial process and trial of this case,” NIA had said.

The case relates to the Elgar Parishad, a public meeting held in Pune on December 31, 2017, to mark 200 years of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. The Pune police had registered an FIR in the case, claiming that the event was funded by the banned CPI (Marxist) and was part of a conspiracy to create unrest. It was further alleged that speeches and songs delivered at the meeting had incited violence near the Bhima-Koregaon war memorial the next day, claimed police.

The prosecution also claimed that Teltumbde was a senior member of the CPI (Marxist) and used to attend international conferences to further the activities of the party under the guise of academic visits to Canada, Pakistan, the United States and France. He was granted bail by the high court on November 11, 2022, and one of the bail conditions restricted his movements to the jurisdiction of the special NIA court in Mumbai, which prompted him to seek permission for the overseas travel.