In Brief
This case arose from the arrest of five prominent human rights activists—Gautam Navalakha, Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, and Vernon Gonsalves—by Maharashtra Police in August 2018 in connection with alleged links to a banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). The five activists were not named in the original FIR relating to Bhima-Koregaon violence. The majority judgment (Chief Justice Khanwilkar) dismissed the petition, holding that accused persons have no right to choose their investigating agency and that next friends cannot pursue such relief through public interest litigation. However, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud's dissenting judgment found serious flaws in the investigation, including selective media briefings by police and reliance on unverified letters, and held that the case warranted appointment of a Special Investigating Team to ensure fair investigation and protect constitutional rights of the accused."
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