Elgar case: HC grants bail to Anand Teltumbde, says no evidence to show he was member of terror outfit CPI (Maoist)

Anand Teltumbde (File image)

The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to scholar-activist Anand Teltumbde in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, noting that there was no evidence to show that he was an active member of the terrorist outfit CPI (Maoist) or had indulged in any terrorist act.

Teltumbde, 73, is the third accused of the total 16 arrested in the case to be released on bail. Poet Varavara Rao is currently out on bail on health grounds, and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj is out on regular bail.

The high court, however, stayed its bail order for a week so that the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the probe agency in the case, can approach the Supreme Court. Teltumbde will not be able to walk out of jail till then.

The only case made out against Teltumbde related to alleged association with a terror outfit and support given to it for which the maximum punishment is ten years in jail, the HC said.

A division bench of Justices A S Gadkari and M N Jadhav also noted that Teltumbde had already spent more than two years in jail.

The bench said after perusing the documents submitted by the NIA, prima facie (on the face of it) it cannot be presumed that Teltumbde is actively involved in the work of the CPI(Maoist) or is an active member of the outfit.

There was no material to show that Teltumbde was directly involved with the activities of CPI (Maoist), it added.

"Looking at the contents of the documents, the submissions of NIA that the appellant (Teltumbde) was an active member of CPI (Maoist) would fall in realm of presumption according to us which may need further corroboration," the judgment said.

The bench further noted that seizure of incriminating material does not in any manner prima facie lead to draw an inference that the accused has committed or indulged in a terrorist act, as contemplated under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

"On reading the chargesheet and the material placed before us, prima facie it cannot be inferred that Appellant has involved himself in a 'terrorist act'," it said.

"The appellant has no criminal antecedents, and he having been behind bars for more than two and a half years, in our opinion a case for grant of bail has been made out," the judgment said.

"It is seen that appellant is a man of intellectual prominence in the field of Dalit ideology / movement and merely because he is the elder brother of wanted accused Milind Teltumbde who had gone underground 30 years ago to espouse the cause of CPI(Maoist) cannot be a sole ground to indict the Appellant and link him to the activities of CPI(Maoist)," the court said.

Teltumbde has been lodged at the Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai since his arrest in the case in April 2020.

The high court granted bail to him on a surety of Rs 1 lakh. His counsel Mihir Desai sought permission to furnish cash bail, which the court allowed.

The NIA then requested the court to stay its order for one week so that it can appeal in the Supreme Court. The bench stayed its order for a week.

Teltumbde had moved the high court last year after a special court refused to grant him bail.

He had claimed that he was never present at the December 31, 2017 Elgar Parishad event held in Pune city, nor made any provocative speeches.

The prosecution's case was that provocative and inflammatory speeches were made at the event, allegedly backed by banned CPI (Maoist), which later led to violence at Koregaon Bhima village near Pune.

Desai, appearing for Teltumbde, had argued that no terror acts can be attributed to him even going by the charge sheet.

But the NIA had opposed the bail plea and claimed that Teltumbde was secretly in touch with his brother Milind Teltumbde, who was killed last November in an encounter with security forces in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district.

The NIA's claim is that Anand Teltumbde was one of the main conveners of the Elgar Parishad and he was an active member of several frontal organisations of the CPI (Maoist).

Desai had argued that Teltumbde was at best a co-invitee, but had neither attended the meeting in Pune nor given any speeches.

The accused in the case have been charged for waging a war against the nation, being active members of the CPI (Maoist), criminal conspiracy and indulging in acts with an intent to strike terror in the minds of people using explosive substances.

The court is yet to frame charges in the case, only after which trial would commence.