Bhima Koregaon riots probe: Bombay HC to hear plea against ADG PB Singh, Maharashtra Police over media briefing in sub judice case

A petition demanding action against Additional Director General (ADG) of Maharashtra Police Param Bir Singh and other officials of Maharashtra Police has been filed in the Bombay High Court under contempt of court for disobeying the order of the magistrate and  briefing the media  about arrests of prominent activists over their alleged Maoist links.

The matter has been slated for a hearing on 7 September — the same day when court will hear the petition of alleged victim of the Bhima Koregaon violence, Satish Gaikwad , who wants the case to be handed over to the National Investigative Agency (NIA). Gaikwad is also being represented in the High Court by the same lawyer.

Activist Sanjay Bhalerao, who claims to be a witness to the Bhima Koregaon violence, filed a criminal public interest litigation (PIL) in the HC seeking action against Singh and the other policemen. According to the petition filed by Sanjay Bhalerao, the police read out parts of letters, which were “crucial evidence” in the case, in a press conference before submitting it to the court in Pune. Bhalerao is being represented in the Bombay High Court by his lawyer Nitin Satpute.

It also urged the court to direct the state government to take action against the police officers under Article 311 of the Constitution under which a civil servant can be dismissed for misconduct.

According to the petition, on 19 March this year, the Pune police had filed an application seeking permission to carry out searches at the residences of some activists.  Police sought for the application to be heard in camera on the ground that if the names of the accused persons were disclosed, then there was a likelihood that they would destroy evidence.

“The magistrate on 19 March allowed police’s request for in-camera proceedings,” the PIL, filed through advocate Nitin Satpute, said. “Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Parambir Singh and other police officers, who were present at the press conference, disclosed crucial information with regard to the case. The police officers acted against the order passed by the magistrate court,” it added.

The petitioner alleged that the probe carried out by the Pune police was politically motivated and with malafide intentions.

On Monday, the high court, while hearing another petition seeking an NIA probe into the case, raised questions over the press conference and said police should not have addressed the media when the Supreme Court was seized of the matter.

The court questioned the police for holding a media interaction when the case is sub-judice and criticised him for disclosing details of the matter, even after the police themselves had sought strict confidentiality in the proceedings.

Maharashtra Police, on 28 August, had arrested five activists, claiming they had links to the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist). The raids triggered strong criticism against the police, leading the cops to defend and claim that they had strong evidence against the arrested activists.

The arrests can be traced to the violence that erupted between the Dalit and Maratha groups, earlier this year near Pune, during the bicentenary anniversary of the Bhima Koregaon battle. The clashes killed one person and left several injured, including 10 policemen.

With inputs from agencies