"Humanity is of utmost importance, everything else is subsequent", Bombay High Court while hearing plea by Bhima Koregaon accused

The personal liberty of an individual and humanity is of utmost importance, commented the Bombay High Court on Tuesday while hearing a plea moved by two persons accused in the Bhima Koregaon case..The Bench of Justices SS Shinde and MS Karnik was hearing a plea moved by Ramesh Gaichor and Sagar Gorkhe..Senior Advocate Mihir Desai, appearing for the two accused, informed the Court that the pleas included a component of illegal arrest, which would involve arguments on personal liberty but which he was not pressing for immediately..Referring to news reports on cases concerning others accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, the Court remarked,"We read about an accused's case where he has no spectacles and his family wants to provide him with one and the jail authorities have rejected it.".The Bench was referring to the statement issued by Sahba Husain, Gautam Navlakha's partner, where she has claimed that the jail authorities at Taloja Jail were refusing to pass on a new pair of spectacles to Navlakha after his pair was stolen on November 27. .An act of deliberate and perverse cruelty: Gautam Navlakha denied spectacles by Taloja Jail authorities, partner claims.Justice Shinde was appalled by the behaviour of the jail authorities. ."It is high time to conduct workshops for jail authorities. Can such requests be denied?" he remarked..Desai chimed in that the Court had taken a sympathetic view in the case of another accused, Dr Varavara Rao, whose transfer to the Nanavati hospital for medical assistance was recently permitted by the Bombay High Court..The Court added, "... the State was kind enough to immediately get instructions and get him transferred to the hospital. We have, however, held humanity to be of utmost importance, everything else is subsequent.".The plea moved for the accused in this case is based on two grounds:That the Special NIA Court at Pune has territorial jurisdiction to conduct the trial and not the one in Mumbai.That the accused had been coerced to name specific people during interrogation by the investigating officers, which the Mumbai Sessions Court did not take cognizance of..Since Advocate Sandesh Patil, appearing for the National Investigating Agency (NIA), sought time to make his submissions in the plea. Therefore, the hearing was adjourned to December 21, 2020.