Civil rights activist Anand Teltumbde, who has been named as an accused by the Pune Police in the Elgar Parishad-Koregaon Bhima case, denied all charges against him and asked the Bombay High Court to quash the FIR filed against him.
![[BREAKING] Bhima-Koregaon Case: Bombay High Court Judge Sarang Kotwal Recuses from Hearing Appeal Of Dr. Anand Teltumbde](https://i0.wp.com/lawchakra.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Bhima-2.jpg?resize=800%2C450&ssl=1)
Bombay: Bombay High Court Judge, Justice Sarang Kotwal recuses from hearing an appeal filed by Dr Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case.
Civil rights activist Anand Teltumbde, who has been named as an accused by the Pune Police in the Elgar Parishad-Koregaon Bhima case, denied all charges against him and asked the Bombay High Court to quash the FIR filed against him.
While the police presented evidence they claim implicates Teltumbde in the case, he told a bench of Justices B P Dharmadhikari and Sarang Kotwal that he had no involvement in any illegal activities and that his social and financial dealings had always been transparent.
Dalit rights activist Anand Teltumbde has approached the Bombay High Court, seeking the closure of the case against him for his alleged involvement in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence.
In May 2024, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court had denied his request for discharge from the case.
Teltumbde’s appeal before the High Court, challenging the special court’s decision, was heard on Thursday by a bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and MS Modak. However, Justice Kotwal recused himself from the matter, stating that he had previously handled many bail pleas related to the case, and judicial propriety required the matter to be heard by a different bench.
The NIA’s case against Teltumbde is based on his alleged role as one of the convenors of the Elgar Parishad event in December 2017, where he allegedly made provocative speeches that led to the riots on January 1, 2018. He is currently out on bail in the case.
In July 2021, a special court had rejected his bail plea, ruling that he was a member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). However, the Bombay High Court granted him bail in November 2022, a decision later upheld by the Supreme Court.
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Earlier, The bench heard several petitions filed in the case, including those of Teltumbde and his co-accused activist Gautam Navlakha, who was arrested by the Pune Police in August for alleged connections to Maoists and their involvement in the Elgar Parishad event held on December 31 of the previous year.
According to the police, the event was funded by Maoists, and the inflammatory speeches made by the activists contributed to the violence that erupted at Koregaon-Bhima on January 1.
Several other activists were named in the FIR, including Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj, P Varavara Rao, and Navlakha. While some of these activists were placed under house arrest by the Supreme Court, they were later re-arrested, except for Navlakha, who was granted house arrest by the Delhi High Court in October.
In October, the Pune Police filed another FIR in connection with the case, naming eight more activists, including Teltumbde and Stan Swamy. While Teltumbde has been named as an accused, Swamy is still considered a suspect by the police.
The bench reserved its verdict on Teltumbde’s plea, extending the interim protection from arrest that had been granted to him previously until the decision is made.
Previous Reports on Bhima Koregaon Case
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