Intervention petition filed in SC against first arrests made in Elgar Parishad case

The Supreme Court on August 29 ordered that the five human rights activists and lawyers, arrested a day earlier in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence case, be kept under house arrest till September 6 when the next hearing in the case will take place.

Minal Gadling, wife of Nagpur-based advocate Surendra Gadling, arrested in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence, moved a petition before the Supreme Court on Friday seeking intervention in a petition filed by historian Romila Thapar and others against the recent arrests of poet P Varavara Rao and four others for their alleged links with Maoists.

Surendra Gadling along with the head of English department of Nagpur University, Shoma Sen (centre in picture); Dalit activist Sudhir Dhawale; activist Mahesh Raut and Kerala native Rona Wilson were arrested from their homes by the Pune Police on June 6 and have been lodged at the Yerwada jail since then. (Sanket Wankhade/HT PHOTO)

The Supreme Court on August 29 ordered that the five human rights activists and lawyers, arrested a day earlier in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence case, be kept under house arrest till September 6 when the next hearing in the case will take place. The court observed that dissent is the “safety valve” of democracy and cannot be grounds for arrests. Minal Gadling has sought intervention in this petition.

Surendra Gadling along with the head of English department of Nagpur University, Shoma Sen; Dalit activist Sudhir Dhawale; activist Mahesh Raut and Kerala native Rona Wilson were arrested from their homes by the Pune Police on June 6 and have been lodged at the Yerwada jail since then. They were accused of having close links with the banned CPI (Maoists) and charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967. An FIR was registered under the Act in January and conspiracy charges were added in March.

Gadling, in her petition, claimed that all the five arrested including her husband, have been falsely implicated in the case with mala fide intentions.

The petition said that all the five persons hold significant position in the society and have dedicated their lives for fighting social injustices. “They are being targeted in this case for being a voice of dissent, and for taking up battles against forces perpetrating injustice,” the petition stated.

Prominent Telugu poet Varavara Rao, activists Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Farreira, trade union activist and lawyer Sudha Bhardwaj and civil liberties activist Gautam Navalakha were arrested by the Pune police from their respective homes, on August 28, in connection with an FIR lodged at Vishrambaug police station, Pune.