New Delhi: In a relief to the Maharashtra police, the Supreme Court Monday granted it more time to conclude its probe and file a chargesheet in the Koregaon-Bhima violence case.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi stayed the Bombay High Court order, which had set aside the lower court’s verdict allowing extension of time to the police to file the probe report against the rights activists arrested in the case.
The bench, also comprising justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, issued notice to the rights activists on a plea of the Maharashtra government, seeking their replies within two weeks, and stayed the operation of the high court order. The bench considered the submissions of former attorney general and senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who appeared for the Maharashtra government, that denial of time would entitle the accused to statutory bail due to non-filing of the chargesheet within the stipulated time period of 90 days.
Assailing the high court order, Rohatgi said the investigating officer (IO) of the case had filed the application seeking extension of time for filing the chargesheet before the trial court and the same was endorsed by the public prosecutor as well.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi opposed the submissions, saying the high court had rightly held that filing of such applications was illegal as such pleas were filed by the public prosecutor independently, after taking note of the IO’s requirement.
The bench stayed the order, paving the way for extension of time to file the chargesheet in the case.
Meanwhile, the bench also issued notice on another plea of the Maharasthra police challenging the Delhi High Court order quashing the transit remand in the case of activist Gautam Navlakha. Rohatgi said the Delhi High Court should not have entertained the habeas corpus (bring the body) writ petition in the case as the apex court had ordered the house arrest of the accused. “How can there be a habeas corpus petition when the Supreme Court is saying they will be kept in house arrest,” he said.
Earlier, the apex court had refused to interfere with the arrest of five rights activists by the Maharashtra police in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence case and declined to appoint a SIT for their arrest. (PTI)
