[Bhima Koregaon] Bombay High Court permits Anand Teltumbde to meet mother after brother's death

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday permitted Anand Teltumbde, one of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence case, to visit his mother in Chandrapur, Maharashtra from March 8 to 10 after his brother and wanted accused, Milind Teltumbde's death..The Court also observed that though Milind Teltumbde may have been a wanted accused involved in activities which are illegal, he was still the brother of the applicant-accused and it was a loss of human life."Death is a death. He may be an accused, he may have been involved in (illegal) activities.. but then ultimately he was present applicant’s brother. There has been a loss of human life," the Court said.Both Anand and Milind are accused on Bhima Koregaon case. While Anand is in jail, Milind was absconding before he was killed in November last year in an encounter with Maharashtra Police.A Bench of Justices SB Shukre and GA Sanap partly allowed the application by Anand Teltumbde observing that the applicant had lost his brother and was yearning to meet his mother in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra to offer her moral support as well as to perform his duty as a brother.The Bench allowed Teltumbde to meet his mother between March 8 to 10, 2022 with appropriate escorts and bandobast.The visit has to be managed in a way that Teltumbde reaches his hometown by March 8 in the morning and reaches Taloja jail back on March 10, 2022. "If some time is available before leaving, the applicant shall be permitted to meet his mother on March 10 if possible," the Court stated.It also said that all expenses other than that of Teltumbde's travel and stay expenses will be borne by the Maharashtra Government.The bench further underlined that he is only permitted to meet with his mother and cannot meet with anybody else..The Bench was hearing a petition filed by Teltumbde challenged the order of special court rejecting temporary bail to visit his mother after his brother's death.The Special NIA Judge while rejecting this application had reasoned that since the order rejecting regular bail was pending in High Court, the present application was untenable as it could not have been filed, and hence rejected the same.Senior Advocate Mihir Desai appearing for Teltumbde, stated that his father had expired a few years ago and his mother was 92 years old now.Since his mother was aged, he expressed desire to spend some time with his family after the unfortunate incident..Another application by Teltumbe seeking regular bail was posted for hearing on March 16. The Special Court in the order rejecting bail, had held that bail could not be granted relying solely on the criminal jurisprudence principle that "the accused is presumed to be innocent till he is found guilty by the competent court".Teltumbde sought quashing of the order on the ground that the trial would take years to begin, and there were over 200 witnesses to examine. He prayed that if not bail, the Court could grant house arrest. He also contended that "casteist forces" were not able to digest his success and his implication in the Bhima Koregaon case was an attempt to belittle his achievements and humiliate Dalits.