The Supreme Court directed the Maharashtra government to submit before it the charge sheet filed against arrested rights activists before a Pune court in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence case. A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Justices S K Kaul, and K M Joseph said have now posted the appeal for further hearing on December 11.
The Pune Police had arrested lawyer Surendra Gadling, Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen, Dalit activist Sudhir Dhawale, activist Mahesh Raut and Kerala native Rona Wilson in June for their alleged links with Maoists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Bhima Koregaon violence broke out following an annual celebratory gathering at Bhima Koregaon to mark the 200th year of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. The gathering consisted largely of Dalits, and interference by upper caste Maratha groups on the Dalit gathering resulted in the escalation of an already tense gathering into violence. The aftermath consisted of various protests resulting in one death, 30 policemen were injured as well as over 300 people being detained.
An investigation by the police in the following months resulted in various arrests, such as that of Rona Wilson in June 2018 under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. In August 2018 five activists, including Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Sudha Bharadwaj, and Gautam Navlakha, were picked up in simultaneous raids across the country, the police alleged that the activists had ties to Maoists, apart from links to the Bhima Koregaon incident.
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