The Supreme Court on Monday said it will examine two days later whether there is material supporting the arrest of five rights activists in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence case.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra extended till September 19 the house arrest of the five rights activists — Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Gautam Navlakha — at their respective homes. "Every criminal investigation is based on allegations and we have to see whether there is some material," the bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud said.
The bench said if there are some grave lapses, it may consider prayers like investigation by a Special Investigating Team (SIT) into the case. The plea by Thapar and others has sought an independent probe into the arrests and the immediate release of the five activists.
The bench fixed the plea by Thapar, economists Prabhat Patnaik and Devaki Jain, sociology professor Satish Deshpande and human rights lawyer Maja Daruwala for final hearing on Wednesday. The court had on September 12 extended the house arrest of the activists till today.
Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Maharashtra Government, said the court should make it clear that after adjudication by it, the arrested accused cannot avail remedies simultaneously on similar issues at other judicial fora.