MEET DEADLINE TO FILE CHARGES IN KOREGAON BHIMA CASE: HC

The Bombay high court on Wednesday set aside a Pune court order that had granted more time to the police for filing a charge sheet against lawyer Surendra Gadling and some other activists arrested in connection with the violence at Koregaon Bhima in the state.

A single-judge bench of Justice Mridula Bhatkar held that the Pune court order granting the police an additional 90 days to file the chargesheet and consequently extending the custody of Gadling and others was “illegal”.

While Justice Bhatkar’s verdict paves the way for Gadling and other activists to be released on bail, the judge stayed her own order from becoming operational till November 1, following a request from the Maharashtra government, thus giving time to the state to file an appeal in the Supreme Court.

The Pune Police had arrested Gadling along with Nagpur University’s English department head Shoma Sen, Dalit activist Sudhir Dhawale, activist Mahesh Raut and Kerala native Rona Wilson in June this year.

The police had booked them under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), alleging they had “links” with Maoists.

They were arrested following raids at their homes and offices in connection with an event to commemorate the Battle of Koregaon Bhima (a village in Pune district) on December 31 last year.

MUMBAI: