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Supreme Court extends house arrests of activists, will examine evidence against them

Published

8 years ago

September 17, 2018

Supreme Court extends house arrests of activists, will examine evidence against them

The Supreme Court, on Monday, September 17, extended till September 19 the interim house arrest of five civil rights activists arrested by the Maharashtra police on August 28 in nationwide raids in connection with Bhima Koregaon communal clashes.

The activists – Sudha Bharadwaj, Gautam Navlakha, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves and Varavara Rao – have been under house arrest since August 29.

On the next date, September 19, the prosecution – the Maharashtra police and the Centre – are likely to present their case diary against the accused and “additional evidence” of the connections between the activists and Maoist organizations.

The court’s interim order placing the activists under house arrest has come on a petition filed by five eminent citizens – Romila Thapar, Maja Daruwala, Devaki Jain, Prabhat Pattnaik and Satish Deshpande – who had challenged the arrests. Families of some of the arrested activists had later filed affidavits in the case.

The top court bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, which is hearing the petition, made it clear at the outset that the interim house arrest orders will continue till Wednesday.

Chief Justice Misra, however, pointed it out to the counsel for the petitioners and the prosecution that the bench was, at the moment, was entertaining the petition “on the foundations of liberty” and would assess the “issues like independent enquiry… at a later stage.”

Senior advocate Singhvi has demanded that the apex court must order a probe by a special investigation team (SIT) to look into the arrest of the activists and whether there is any truth in the allegations of their involvement in the January 1 Bhima Koregaon communal clashes or those of them being involved with Maoists “in a conspiracy against the State or to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.

A SC bench observed that the court “must go through the evidence” to arrive at a conclusion whether there is actually substance in the criminal cases against the activists or that the case is fabricated.

The court further remarked that it may even order a SIT probe to look into the manner and the circumstances leading to registration of FIRs and subsequent arrests of the activists.

“We may quash the case if there is no material. We will have to examine the materials first. Let them (Maharashtra police) submit a report before us. We will safeguard the liberty but we will also have to see what is the material against them,” the judges said.

On Monday, the counsel for the prosecution once again questioned the locus standi of the petitioners in the case, with Additional Solicitor Generals (ASG) Tushar Mehta and Maninder Singh arguing that the Supreme Court should not have entertained the petition to begin with and that pleas by the arrested activists were already sub judice at the lower and high court level.

While senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan was arguing on behalf of the petitioners, Mehta, along with ASG Maninder Singh maintained that “strangers (referring to the petitioners) have no locus in criminal matters.”

Senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for the petitioners, however, strongly rebutted the submissions by the prosecution. Singhvi and Mehta demanded that the cases filed by the activists in the lower and high courts must be entertained while the extant petition in the Supreme Court should be set aside. However, the suggestion attracted a strong rebuke from Dhavan who snapped at Mehta while pointedly telling the bench: “Let us have a hearing without interruptions. Mehta should be doing cricket commentary… don’t try to convert everything into a stupid drama.”

Mehta retorted saying he did not want to “stoop to his (Dhavan’s) level” and continued to submit that “many incriminating documents against the arrested social activists have been recovered during the investigation”. He claimed that the activists have “not only been arrested for their involvement in the Bhima Koregaon event but also for conspiring to disrupt peace in the country.”

The five activists – Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Gautam Navlakha, Varavara Rao and Sudha Bharadwaj – were arrested on August 28 in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case. The following day, the Supreme Court ordered that they be placed under house arrest till September 6. “Dissent is the safety valve of democracy, if you don’t allow safety valve, pressure cooker will burst,” the court had said.

On September 6, the court extended their house arrest till September 12 and adjourned the matter. The bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, however, had pulled up the police for briefing the media even when the case was still in court.

During the September 12 hearing, the court adjourned the matter to Monday, September 17 and extended the house arrest of the activists. Both sides had asked for more time to file additional documents. On Monday, the house arrest was extended till Wednesday, when the prosecution has provide evidence for the case under which the arrests were made.

Related Topics:Activists Arrests Bhima-Koregaon Narendra Modi

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Yogi Adityanath takes a dig at Akhilesh Yadav over Ram Temple visit plan

Yogi Adityanath’s remarks came after the Samajwadi Party announced that Akhilesh Yadav would visit the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on December 12.

Published

9 hours ago

November 7, 2026

APNLive Desk

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday took an apparent swipe at Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav over his planned visit to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, saying those who had fired on Ram devotees should first apologise to them and to the saints.

Yogi made the remarks while addressing the 10th edition of Deepotsav in Ayodhya. He did not name Akhilesh Yadav directly.

Yogi’s remarks come after Akhilesh’s Ayodhya visit plan

The chief minister’s comments came after the Samajwadi Party announced that Akhilesh Yadav would visit the Ram Temple in Ayodhya on December 12. It would be his first visit to the temple since its inauguration, according to the report.

Yogi said those who had earlier neglected and insulted Ayodhya, opened fire on Ram devotees and subjected saints to lathicharge should come to the city only after seeking forgiveness.

“Let them apologise to the devotees of Lord Ram; let them apologise to the saints,” Yogi said, adding that they should repent for their past actions.

Reference to 1990 firing on kar sevaks

Yogi’s remarks referred to the 1990 police firing on kar sevaks during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. At the time, the Uttar Pradesh government was headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav’s father.

The chief minister said those who had once “bloodied” Ayodhya were now remembering the city. He also criticised political leaders over their conduct at religious gatherings, referring to the decorum of a katha.

Akhilesh has not yet visited the Ram Temple

Akhilesh Yadav has visited Ayodhya earlier but has not so far visited the Ram Temple. The SP leader was in the city on October 8 to attend a Bhagwat Katha organised by party leader Pawan Pandey.

According to the report, Akhilesh and his wife, Mainpuri MP Dimple Yadav, are scheduled to offer prayers at the Ram Temple and Hanumangarhi on December 12.

The planned visit comes amid political activity in Ayodhya ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections due by February 2027.

Yogi highlights Ayodhya’s transformation

During his Deepotsav address, Yogi also spoke about the changes in Ayodhya and described the city’s transformation as an ideological victory.

He said those who had previously neglected Ayodhya were now witnessing its development. He also said Lord Ram represented India’s national consciousness, culture, values and self-respect.

The chief minister further recalled the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and said Ayodhya had regained the glory for which kar sevaks and saints had struggled.

India News

Ahead of Diwali, Yogi govt hikes DA by 5% for UP government staff

The Uttar Pradesh government has increased Dearness Allowance by 5 percentage points, taking it from 58% to 63%. The revised rate will benefit lakhs of eligible employees ahead of Diwali.

Published

9 hours ago

November 7, 2026

APNLive Desk

The Uttar Pradesh government has announced a 5 per cent increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) for state government employees ahead of Diwali. With this revision, the DA rate has increased from 58 per cent to 63 per cent, providing financial relief to lakhs of eligible employees across the state.

The revised allowance will be effective from July 1, 2026, according to the government announcement. A government order was also issued on Saturday, November 7.

The enhanced DA will be paid along with employees’ regular November 2026 salaries.

Which employees will benefit from the DA hike?

The decision covers regular state government employees and several other categories of eligible staff.

These include employees of aided educational and technical institutions, regular and full-time employees of urban local bodies, work-charged employees and personnel drawing salaries under University Grants Commission (UGC) pay scales.

The revision is expected to benefit a large section of the Uttar Pradesh workforce ahead of the festive season.

What happens to the DA arrears?

The revised DA rate will apply retrospectively from July 1, 2026. Consequently, employees will also be entitled to arrears for the period preceding the November salary payment.

The government has made provisions for the payment of the arrears for July to October 2026. These amounts will be credited to employees’ provident fund accounts, according to the reported payment arrangements.

The enhanced allowance for November will be reflected in the regular salary for that month.

The decision comes ahead of Diwali and will provide additional financial relief to eligible government employees in Uttar Pradesh.

India News

Himanta Sarma to approach court over threat to gherao home in Zubeen case

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said his government would approach the Supreme Court and Gauhati High Court over a threat to gherao his residence if two prime accused in the Zubeen Garg death case are granted bail.

Published

11 hours ago

November 7, 2026

APNLive Desk

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said the state government would bring before the Supreme Court and Gauhati High Court a threat by a group to gherao his residence in connection with the Zubeen Garg death case.

Speaking to reporters, Sarma described the threat as a serious matter, saying it posed a danger to his family and could amount to a direct attempt to murder.

The development comes ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on November 30 of the bail petitions filed by Shyamkanu Mahanta and Siddhartha Sharma, the two prime accused in the case.

Why Himanta Sarma plans to approach the courts

Sarma said he had instructed the state government’s legal department to bring the matter to the notice of both the Supreme Court and Gauhati High Court.

The Chief Minister objected to the group threatening to target his residence rather than holding a protest near the Chief Minister’s Office.

He said those questioning the judicial process should approach the Supreme Court or the high court instead of targeting him. Sarma also maintained that the courts should be allowed to carry out their work.

According to him, attempts to question the judicial process in this manner could obstruct the path of justice.

What the group said about the bail pleas

The Zubeen Garg Nyay Samiti, led by Raijor Dal MLA Akhil Gogoi, had announced on Thursday that it would gherao the Chief Minister’s residence under certain circumstances.

The group said it would carry out the protest if Shyamkanu Mahanta and Siddhartha Sharma were granted bail or if the Assam government failed to mount an effective legal opposition to their bail pleas.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the bail petitions of the two accused on November 30.

Bail granted to two accused in the case

The Gauhati High Court granted bail to singer Amritprava Mahanta, an accused in the Zubeen Garg death case, on October 9. She was granted bail against a bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of the same amount.

The high court has also granted bail to Sandipan Garg in the case.

Referring to the bail order concerning Amritprava Mahanta, Sarma said it mentioned that 160 witnesses had not named her during the court hearing, despite having done so during the investigation conducted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Responding to questions over the development, Sarma said the witnesses should be questioned about the discrepancy rather than him.

What happened to Zubeen Garg?

Singer Zubeen Garg died in Singapore on September 19 last year while swimming in the sea.

Police in Singapore had said that no foul play was involved in his death. Garg had travelled to Singapore to attend the fourth edition of the North East India Festival (NEIF).