Maharashtra moves Supreme Court for more time in Bhima-Koregaon case

Maharashtra government has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay high court’s refusal to grant further time to complete its probe in the Bhima-Koregaon violence.

The state wanted extension of the custody of five alleged Maoist sympathizers who were arrested in connection with the incident in June this year. One of the arrested also includes the lawyer of an alleged Maoist.

The state mentioned its appeal before a bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, which agreed to take it up for an urgent hearing on Monday. Advocate Nishant Katneshwar said early hearing was urgent as the five accused would become eligible for bail.

The Pune police had arrested the five on June 6, 2018, five months after an FIR was registered in the case. In August the police made five more arrests after nationwide raids were conducted at the house of human rights activists.

Under the law, police had to file its final report before the court within 90 days, failing which the accused are entitled to bail. For the June arrests, the time ended on October 3.

But as the law permits extension of this period another 90 days, provided the prosecuting agency gives a satisfactory report about the investigation, the police had moved court asking for more time.

First Published: Feb 01, 2019 22:56 IST