SC questions hearing on Sunday to extend time to file charge sheet

New Delh: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked as to why the local court at Pune sat on a Sunday to decide the plea of Maharashtra police seeking extension of 90-day limit for filing the charge sheet against arrested rights activist in the Koregaon-Bhima violence case.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi also reserved its verdict on the Maharashtra government's appeal challenging the refusal of the Bombay High Court to extend the 90-day limit for filing the charge sheet in the case.

The bench, which also comprised Justices L Nageswara Rao and S K Kaul, was told that the state police filed an application seeking extension of time by 90 more days for filing the charge sheet on August 30, 2018. The 90 days period was expiring on September 3.

But, the trial court took up the case for hearing on September 2, a Sunday, and extended the time for filing the charge sheet by another 90 days which disentitled the arrested accused from getting the statutory bail.

"Heavens would not have fallen if the trial court would have heard the case on Monday (September 3)," the bench observed and asked "whether the trial court has recorded any reason for hearing the case on Sunday". Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi and lawyer Nishant Katneshwar, appearing for Maharashtra, said that the trial court has recorded the reasons for according the hearing on Sunday and assailed the Bombay High Court's decision to set aside the extension of time given for filing the charge sheet.

"This is a very very serious matter and pertains to armed rebellion across India. This is not the case where the accused can be allowed to get default bail," Rohatgi said.

He said the legal requirements have been complied with as the investigating officer (IO) and the public prosecutor both filed two separate applications seeking extension of time and the courts should not be nit-picking and giving reliefs to the accused on procedural and technical grounds.

Senior advocates A M Singhvi, Anand Grover and Indira Jaising appeared for the accused and said that the issue pertained to the fundamental right of liberty of the accused and the high court's order wshould not be interfered with.

Jaising said the Public Prosecutor did not apply his mind independently while filing the application seeking extension of time for filing the charge sheet. She said the state police has been indulging in "ever-greening" the cases to ensure that one of the five arrested accused, Surendra Gadling, remains in jail and alleged that he has been summoned in an FIR registered in 2016.