3 SC judges have recused from hearing Navlakha's plea, not 5

Three Supreme Court judges and not five have recused themselves from hearing the petition of civil rights activist Gautam Navlakha in connection with the Koregaon Bhima violence case, an official source said Friday.

The three judges who had recused in the matter are -- Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justices B R Gavai and S Ravindra Bhat, the source said.

He was referring to the media reports which said that Justices N V Ramana and R Subhash Reddy were also among the judges to have recused from hearing the plea.

The official clarified that when the matter had come before a three-judge bench headed by Justice Ramana on October 1, only Justice Gavai had recused himself.

Justices Ramana and Reddy, who were also part of the three-judge bench, had not recused, the source said.

He clarified that on October 1, the case was ordered not to be listed before the bench of Justices Ramana, Reddy and Gavai as the same composition were to continue for the coming week.

The apex court Friday extended till October 15 the interim protection from arrest granted by the Bombay High Court to Navlakha in the Koregaon Bhima violence case.