On activists’ arrests, SC could consider probe in case of lapses

The Supreme Court said on Monday it will examine two days later whether there is material supporting the arrest of five rights activists in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence case.

A bench headed by chief justice Dipak Misra extended till September 19 the house arrest of the five rights activists —Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Gautam Navlakha— at their respective homes.

“Every criminal investigation is based on allegations and we have to see whether there is some material,” the bench, also comprising justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud, said. The bench said if there are some grave lapses, it may consider prayers such as that of an investigation by a Special Investigating Team (SIT) into the case.

The plea by historian Romila Thapar and others has sought an independent probe into the arrests and the immediate release of the five activists. The bench fixed the plea by Thapar, economists Prabhat Patnaik and Devaki Jain, sociology professor Satish Deshpande and human rights lawyer Maja Daruwala for final hearing on Wednesday.

The court had on September 12 extended the house arrest of the activists till Monday.

NEW DELHI: A BENCH HEADED BY CHIEF JUSTICE DIPAK MISRA EXTENDED TILL SEPTEMBER 19 THE HOUSE ARREST OF THE FIVE RIGHTS ACTIVISTS