The Supreme Court, today, extended the house arrest of five rights activists, who were arrested in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence case till Sept. 17.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud adjourned the hearing on the plea filed by historian Romila Thapar and four others to Sept. 17 after it was submitted that senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who is representing the petitioners, was busy in another court.
Earlier, Singhvi appeared before the bench and submitted that the hearing on Thapar's plea be conducted after 12 p.m. as he has to appear in another matter.
The court was hearing the plea filed against the arrest of the rights activists—Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Gautam Navlakha in the case.
The Maharashtra police arrested the five activists on Aug. 28 in connection with an FIR lodged following a conclave—‘Elgaar Parishad'—held on Dec. 31 last year that had later triggered violence at Koregaon-Bhima village.
On Aug. 29, the apex court ordered the house arrest of the activists, saying "dissent is the safety valve of democracy".
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