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28 Sep 2018 6:00pm

Bhima Koregaon Case: SC rejects the plea to constitute SIT, activists to remain under house-arrest

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In a majority verdict of 2:1, the Supreme Court Bench today refused to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe into the Bhima Koregaon Case, and ruled that the activists will remain under house-arrest for 4 weeks.

The verdict was pronounced by a three-judge bench comprising of CJI Dipak Misra, Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud.

Justice Khanwilkar authored the judgment on behalf of himself and CJI Misra, while Justice Chandrachud had a dissenting opinion.

Justice Khanwilkar in his judgment held that the accused do not have a say in which investigating agency should look into the case.

He further held that this was not a case of arrest merely because of the dissenting views of the accused, noting that there was prima facie material to prove that the accused had links to a banned Maoist group. Hence, the petition for probe by SIT was disposed off with the accused given the liberty to pursue other appropriate remedies within a period of four weeks.

However, Justice Chandrachud dissented from the majority holding the arrests to be baseless. He said that the Maharashtra police was unfair and cannot be trusted, noting that the counter-affidavit produced by the police does not connect the accused activists to the allegations made.

Justice Chandrachud also slammed the police for conducting a press conference immediately after the arrest, saying that it: “cast a doubt on the investigation process”. “It subverts the process. Trial by the media follows such police briefing.”

Thus, he held that a special investigation team must be set up to probe the matter.

Read the case background here.


Tagged: Bhima Koregaon Case House Arrest Extended Maoist Links CJI Dipak Misra Justice AM Khanwilkar Justice DY Chandrachud Supreme Court
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