HC allows Anand Teltumbde to meet grieving mother

The order has put strict restrictions and permitted Teltumbde to go to Chandrapur with a police escort only to meet his mother at her house and no one else

Mumbai The Bombay high court (HC) on Wednesday allowed Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the Elgar Parishad case, to visit his 92-year-old grieving mother in Chandrapur from March 8 to 10, following the death of his brother and top Maoist leader Milind Teltumbde.

The court further stated that Teltumbde had to be brought back to Taloja jail by March 11 and he would have to bear the travel and staying expenses at Chandrapur. (Getty Images/Purestock)

The order has put strict restrictions and permitted Teltumbde to go to Chandrapur with a police escort only to meet his mother at her house and no one else.

The division bench of justice Sunil Shukre and justice Govinda Sanap while hearing Teltumbde’s temporary bail application, was informed by senior advocate Mihir Desai that he had approached the HC after the trial court had rejected the application on the ground that HC was hearing his regular bail application and he should seek temporary bail from HC only. Desai informed the bench that following the death of his brother, Teltumbde was yearning to meet his grieving mother and condole her hence requested his application to be allowed.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), however, opposed the application. Advocate Sandesh Patil for the federal agency submitted that it was agreeing to Teltumbde going with a police escort to meet his mother and returning soon thereafter. The agency was however opposed to the court granting bail for a few days. “The seriousness is that who has died was a wanted accused and he died in an ambush,” said Patil.

Additional public prosecutor Sangeeta Shinde for the state said that it did not have any problem if Teltumbde was allowed to go and meet his mother with an escort provided he paid the charges of the escort as he was booked under serious charges.

After hearing the submissions, the bench allowed his plea. “The applicant is allowed to meet his mother in Chandrapur on March 8 and 9. To achieve the purpose of meeting his mother, he shall be taken with a police escort with appropriate Bandobast in a manner so as to reach Chandrapur by morning or afternoon of March 8. Thereafter the applicant shall leave Chandrapur along with police escort on March 10 at appropriate time.”

The court further stated that Teltumbde had to be brought back to Taloja jail by March 11 and he would have to bear the travel and staying expenses at Chandrapur. The escort charges and other necessary expenses had to be borne by the state government just like they had done when another accused Sudha Bharadwaj had been allowed to visit home to attend her father’s final rights in Bangalore for two days in August 2019.

Responding to the NIA objection the bench said, “Death is death. He (Milind Teltumbde) may be an accused; he may have been involved in activities…but then ultimately, he was the present applicant’s brother. There has been a loss of human life.”