Bhima-Koregaon case: No evidence, quash FIR, criminal proceedings, activists tells HC

Teltumbde and Navlakha’s petitions are expected to be heard before the bench of justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre on Friday.

Dalit writer Anand Teltumbde and civil liberty activist Gautam Navlakha moved the Bombay high court (HC) to dismiss criminal proceedings and a first information report (FIR) against them, respectively.

HT File

The proceedings against Teltumbde were initiated after the police claimed to have found documents — during a raid at his house after the Bhima-Koregaon violence on January 2, 2018 — which they said establish his links with Maoists. The FIR against Navlakha accuses him of instigating violence at Bhima-Koregaon with his speech at Elgar Parishad on December 31.

The petition filed by Navlakha through senior advocate Dr Yug Choudhary sought to quash an FIR on grounds that Navlakha has been implicated and the police failed to find evidence.

Teltumbde, represented by senior advocate Devyani Kulkarni, also sought to quash criminal proceedings against him, saying the activist and academician had no role to play in the Elgar Parishad and there is no evidence against him. The petition also states that the police undertook an unwarranted search at his house on August 28, 2018. This not only breaches his rights, but also had a debilitating impact on his reputation.

Teltumbde and Navlakha’s petitions are expected to be heard before the bench of justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre on Friday.