HC extends protection from arrest to Teltumbde till Feb 27

The Bombay High Court Friday extended till February 27 the interim protection from arrest granted to activist and academic Anand Teltumbde.

While Teltumbde's plea seeking anticipatory bail was listed for hearing Friday, a single bench presided over by Justice N W Sambre adjourned the hearing and extended Teltumbde's protection at the request of the latter's counsel.

Teltumbde is one of the 22 accused in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case.

Pune police has charged Teltumbde and others for various offences, including having links with banned Maoist organisations.

The high court had earlier directed Teltumbde to appear before the investigating officer in the case on February 14 and 18, and to cooperate with the investigation till his plea is finally decided.

Teltumbde was arrested on February 3 after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by a Pune court, but released hours later when a city sessions court termed his arrest 'illegal' after noting that the Supreme Court had granted him time till February 11 to exhaust all his legal remedies seeking protection.

He then moved the high court to seek a pre-arrest bail.

According to police, Maoists had supported the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, and the inflammatory speeches there led to violent clashes at the Koregaon Bhima war memorial in the district the next day.