Elgar Parishad case: Allegations against Anand Teltumbde prima facie true, says court

A particular court right here has stated that there was ample materials to point out that the allegations against activist Anand Teltumbde, arrested within the Elgar Parishad-Maoist hyperlinks case, have been prima facie true.

The court has additionally stated it doesn’t discover the accusations against Mr. Teltumbde to be “inherently improbable” or “wholly unbelievable”, and prima facie he was concerned in furthering actions of a banned organisation.

Special choose D.E. Kothalikar, presiding over issues probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), made the observations whereas rejecting Mr. Teltumbde’s bail software on July 12, though the detailed order was made out there on Friday.

“Upon perusal of the documents, including the exchange of e¬-mails and the statements of the witnesses relied upon by the prosecution, and after cross-checking the truthfulness of the allegations made against the applicane, this court does not find that the accusations are inherently improbable or wholly unbelievable,” the court said.

“On the opposite, I’ve no hesitation to conclude that there’s ample materials to allow the court attain to prima facie conclusion that the accusations made against the applicant (Teltumbde) are prima facie true,” the judge noted.

The court further said there is no hitch to record prima facie satisfaction that there is material against the applicant to show his complicity in the crime.

It also noted that evidence and documents submitted by the prosecution prima facie indicate that the applicant was prima facie involved in furthering activities of the banned organisation.

The NIA had earlier claimed that Teltumbde was an active member of CPI (Maoist) and propagated its activities.

“I maintain that there’s prima facie ample materials on report which might reveal lively function and participation of the applicant,” the court said.

Among other grounds, Mr. Teltumbde’s lawyer, had urged the court to consider the aspect that the probe in the crime has already been completed and the applicant is a well-qualified person.

The court, however, cited a Supreme Court order and noted that the fact that that the charge¬sheet has been submitted against the applicant cannot be used in favour of the applicant, rather it would go against him.

“As acknowledged earlier, the courts contemplating the bail software are required to keep up a fantastic steadiness between the societal curiosity vis-a-vis private liberty of the accused, by adhering to the elemental precept of felony jurisprudence.

“In this background, the contention of the applicant that his educational qualification and social background, needs to be considered while deciding bail application, is liable to be discarded,” the judge observed.

Teltumbde, arrested by the NIA in April last year, had in January 2021 filed a bail application stating that the theory of the prosecution that he was “waging a battle or making an attempt to wage a battle or abetting others to wage a battle or incite the general public is humbug.” Teltumbde is presently lodged within the Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai.