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Elgar Parishad case: NIA moves Supreme Court against bail granted to Teltumbde
The NIA on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court against a recent Bombay high court order granting bail to Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the Elgar Parishad case.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court against a recent Bombay high court order granting bail to Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the Elgar Parishad case.
While the high court granted the relief to Teltumbde on November 18, it stayed its order for a week so that the NIA could approach the Supreme Court. This means that Teltumbde is still in jail.
On Tuesday, the matter was mentioned by solicitor general Tushar Mehta before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and comprising justices Hima Kohli and JB Pardiwala who posted the same for Friday.
While the bench was ready to take up the matter on Tuesday itself, Mehta sought a hearing on Thursday, saying the case was to be argued by additional solicitor general (ASG) SV Raju who was not in town. The bench posted the case for Friday.
The case pertains to alleged inflammatory speeches made at an Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune on December 31, 2017 which, police claimed, triggered violence the next day near Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city. One person was killed in the incident.
Teltumbde was arrested in April 2020 over alleged links with banned terrorist outfit, the Communist Party of India (Maoist), according to the NIA. The 73-year-old is facing charges under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and is lodged in Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai.
Mehta informed the top court that the high court had stayed its order for a week, till November 25.
“We will have it on Friday. The stay will operate till then,” the bench said.
Appearing for Teltumbde, advocate Aparna Bhat informed the top court that she had filed a caveat on behalf of his client. Mehta agreed to supply a copy of NIA’s appeal to Bhat.
Teltumbde is the third accused in the case to be granted bail by the high court after co-accused Varavara Rao and Sudha Bharadwaj.
