Five activists were arrested by the Pune Police during raids in connection with the caste violence at Koregaon Bhima in Maharashtra
WEB DESK / AGENCIES
In a big relief to five activist arrested by the Maharshtra police on charges of terror and alleged Maoist links will be under house arrest till September 6 and the Cente and the Maharashtra government must file responses to the petition challenging the arrests, the Supreme Court said today.
The decision by the five-judge bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, means the three activists taken to Pune for questioning, will be restored to their homes. While delivering the judgment, Justice DY Chandrachud said, “Dissent is the safety valve of democracy. If you don’t allow the safety valve pressure cooker will burst”.
The petitioners, including historian Romila Thapar, say the arrests of Sudha Bharadwaj, Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao, Arun Fereira, Gautam Navlakha and Vernon Gonsalves were meant to muzzle dissent. They sought the arrests be put on hold and an independent probe into the matter.
In a statement, petitioner Romila Thapar said: “Arrests should surely be of those who actually spread terror in society through assassination and lynching, and not of those who work for human rights – the rights that are essential to citizenship and democracy ? Are these arrests a demonstration to show that the democratic rights of the Indian citizen have been annulled?”
Meanwhile Mahrashtra police said the activists were linked to Maoist groups and have shown “intolerance to present political system”. There is “conclusive proof” that they have a nexus with other unlawful groups and deliberate involvement in larger conspiracy. The activists, the police said, were planning to recruit members from 35 colleges and launch attacks.
The activists have been charged under the controversial Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, which authorizes raids and arrest without warrant if a person is suspected to “support terrorist acts or unlawful activities”. The accused cannot apply for bail and the police get 180 days to file a chargesheet, instead of the usual 90 days.
The top court order supercedes the proceedings in two other courts — one in Pune and the other Delhi High Court. In Pune, three arrested activists — Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira — were produced. The Delhi High Court, which was hearing the transit remand request for arrested activist Gautam Navlakha, said it would resume hearing tomorrow after going through the Supreme Court order.
The arrests were made during raids in different cities. Prominent Telugu poet and Maoist ideologue Varavara Rao was arrested from Hyderabad, activists Vernon Gonzalves and Arun Farreira were picked up from Mumbai, trade union activist Sudha Bhardwaj from Faridabad in Haryana and civil liberties activist Gautam Navalakha was arrested from New Delhi.
The raids followed the questioning of five people — Sudhir Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Rona Wilson and Shoma Sen — who were arrested in June for alleged Maoist links, sources said. They had allegedly made “provocative” speeches, which, the police said, triggered the violence in Bhima-Koregaon in December last year.
Yesterday, despite a Punjab and Haryana high court order to place rights lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj under house arrest, the Pune police whisked her away to an unknown location, her lawyers said. The police, they said, had refused to comply with the order, which barred them from taking her to Pune for interrogation. The matter was resolved well after midnight as the magistrate asked the police to comply with court’s order.
Arundhati Roy, who has covered the Maoist conflict in her writings, said, “They should raid those who make up lynch mobs and murder people in broad daylight. It tells us very clearly where India is headed. Historian Ramachandra Guha blamed it on the “corporate cronies of the ruling government,” who, he said, were bent on grabbing tribal land, forest and mineral resources.
The arrests have become the latest flashpoint between the government and the opposition. “There is only place for one NGO in India and it’s called the RSS,” tweeted Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.”Rahul Gandhi has perhaps forgotten how his own party called these “urban naxals” a bigger threat than those engaging in guerilla warfare in jungles,” the BJP’s Sambit Patra said