PUNE: In a major setback to Pune police , a special UAPA court here ordered senior academic Anand Teltumbde 's release after holding that his arrest earlier in the morning in the Elgar Parishad case, was "illegal" and "contemptuous" of the Supreme Court 's (SC) order of January 14. The court also said that a report about the police action will be sent to the SC soon.The SC had given Teltumbde a four-week protection which ends on February 11. However, the Pune police arrested him around 3.30am on Saturday from Mumbai airport on his arrival from Kochi after the special court in Pune on Friday had rejected his anticipatory bail plea. The police later produced him before special UAPA judge Kishor D Vadane for his custodial remand However, Teltumbde's lawyer Rohan Nahar moved a plea alleging contempt of SC order by the Pune police and pleading the special court to first decide the contempt issue before taking up the police's plea for his custodial remand.Nahar argued that the police action was in gross violation of the protection granted by the Supreme Court and the special court must send a report to the Apex court notifying the contempt. Reading out the SC order, Nahar argued that the Apex court had clearly allowed Teltumbde to move the competent authority for regular or anticipatory bail and the competent authority includes the trial court as well as the high court under Sections 438 and 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).He argued that the police had no authority to arrest Teltumbde from Mumbai airport as he was going to meet his lawyer for filing an appeal in the high court on Saturday against the lower court's order rejecting his anticipatory bail plea. "By arresting him, the police frustrated his right to file a bail application," Nahar submitted.Nahar argued that the Supreme Court's protection was absolute and there was no requirement for his client to file a separate plea before the trial court for protection after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected.District government pleader Ujjwala Pawar sought to justify the police action by arguing that the SC had not given Teltumbde a blanket protection but, gave him liberty only to move the trial court for bail relief. "The protection gets extinguished if he is arrested after his pre-arrest bail plea is rejected," she submitted and said that the contempt plea was a pressure tactic resorted to by the defence.Pawar argued that while giving protection the SC did not anticipate whether the lower court will allow or reject Teltumbde's anticipatory bail plea. She pointed out that no plea was filed before the trial court for seeking further protection after rejection of the anticipatory bail plea. "The police have not done anything wrong," she insisted.

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