‘Academic luxury...’ NIA court denies Anand Teltumbde permission to attend Kochi Literature Festival

Mumbai: A special NIA court on Wednesday refused to allow Anand Teltumbde, accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, to attend the Kochi literature festival, where he had been invited as a speaker. The court cited the lack of “inevitable circumstances” for the visit and described it as a form of “academic luxury.”

Special judge Chakor Baviskar observed that the grounds mentioned in Teltumbde’s plea were “not sort of an emergency or extreme circumstances which are inevitable and make him incumbent to go.”

The judge added, “It is sort of luxury, academic though.”

What is the background of the case?

Teltumbde was arrested in April 2020 for his alleged role in the Elgar Parishad case. The case concerns the alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune on 31 December 2017, which police claimed triggered violence the following day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of western Maharashtra.

The activist was granted bail by the Supreme Court on 22 November, with one of the conditions being that he should not leave the jurisdiction of the trial court without its permission.

Why did Teltumbde want to travel to Kochi?

In a plea submitted to the special court, Teltumbde requested permission to travel to Kochi for two days from 28 to 30 November for academic purposes. He stated that he had been invited as a speaker to a unique festival of art and literature in the historic city.

Why did the court deny the plea?

The prosecution opposed Teltumbde’s plea, noting that he frequently sought permission to leave Mumbai. The court also pointed out that previous similar requests had been made by him, with the grounds being almost identical to the current application.

“The present applicant/accused might be a scholar and academician in his field; however, the high court, with specific intention, has imposed that condition on the applicant/accused, not to go beyond the local limits of jurisdiction of the court,” the special judge said.

He further stated, “The grounds and reasons contended by him are not a sort of emergency or extreme circumstances which are inevitable and make him incumbent to go.”

PTI inputs