With a splintered nod from Supreme Court, Maharashtra police can continue its probe against five activists arrested for alleged links with banned outfit Communist Party of India (Maoist) in the Bhima Koregaon violence case.
In a majority verdict of 2:1, the three-judge bench said on Friday the activists would remain in house arrest for another four weeks and allowed the state police to carry on with the investigation which began with a first information report filed on January 8 against Varavara Rao, Sudha Bhardwaj, Gautam Navlakha, Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves.
The activists had accused the police of fabricating evidence against them since they had spoken out against government policies and advocated support for people such as GN Saibaba, who was convicted under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for Maoist links.
But the state police submitted its case diary along with other evidence to the top court to show that the five have not been arrested because they were "dissenters". The evidence has not been made public as it could prejudice the case.
"It is not a case of arrest because of mere dissenting views or difference in political ideology of the accused. It concerns their link with members of the banned organisation and its activities," said Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra, who demits office on October 2, and Justice AM Khanwilkar.
Justice DY Chandrachud was the dissenter. He said that a press meeting held by the police on August 31 and their repeated utterances to the media in a case under investigation was a clear attempt to besmirch the activists. Finding the state police to be untrustworthy, he backed the activists' plea for a probe by a special investigation team (SIT).
But the bench rejected the demand for an SIT probe, largely because the evidence in the case will be tested in lower courts, and the case is yet to reach that stage.
The court's majority view held, "No specific material facts and particulars are found in the petition about mala fide exercise of power by the investigating officer… The investigating officer is free to proceed against the concerned accused as per law."
With this, the court returned the case files to the police in a sealed cover.
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