Human rights activist Gautam Navlakha at his residence after he was arrested by the Pune police in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence, in New Delhi on Aug 28, 2018. (PTI /File) Human rights activist Gautam Navlakha at his residence after he was arrested by the Pune police in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence, in New Delhi on Aug 28, 2018. (PTI /File) The Mumbai state government on Friday told the Bombay High Court that the Supreme Court had granted protection against the arrest of human rights activist Gautam Navlakha till October 26. The High Court has now directed the Pune Police not to take any coercive action against professor Anand Teltumbde, till the next hearing. The court was hearing a petition moved by Navlakha and Teltumbde seeking to quash the FIR dated January 8 lodged by Pune Police in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence on January 1. On August 28, the Pune Police conducted simultaneous raids in the houses of civil rights activists Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves (Mumbai), Anand Teltumbde (Goa), Gautam Navlakha (Delhi), Varavara Rao, K V Kumaranath, Kranthi Tekula and professor Satyanarayana (Hyderabad), Sudha Bharadwaj (Faridabad) and Stan Swamy (Jharkhand). While seeking interim relief, Navlakha’s lawyer Yug Chaudhry told the High Court that there is an apprehension that Navlakha might be arrested any time. Additional Public Prosecutor Aruna Pai told the court that Pune Police had informed her that Navlakha was granted protection by the Supreme Court till October 26. The court then adjourned the matter to October 26. A division bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice Bharati Dangre, with regard to Teltumbde’s petition, directed Pune Police that no coercive steps shall be taken till the next date of hearing. Last month, the Supreme Court had refused to interfere in the case and said that the Pune Police could go ahead with its investigation. On October 1, the Delhi High Court freed Navlakha from house arrest, almost five weeks after he was arrested by the Pune Police with four other activists. Ruling that there was “non-compliance” of the Constitution in granting transit remand for Navlakha, the High Court had said his detention was “untenable” under law. The High Court ruling came days after the Supreme Court extended the period of house arrest for Navlakha and the four activists by four weeks and said the accused could seek legal recourse at the appropriate court. For all the latest Mumbai News, download Indian Express App

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