Bhima Koregaon raids: SC extends house arrest of 5 activists till September 17

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday extended the house arrest of five rights activists – Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Gautam Navlakha – arrested in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence case till September 17.

The house arrest was extended after senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who is representing the petitioners, failed to turn up in court.

Earlier, Singhvi appeared before the bench and submitted that the hearing on Thapar's plea be conducted after 12 pm as he has to appear in another matter. 

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud  was told that Singhvi was busy in another court.

The top court was hearing a plea filed by historian Romila Thapar and four others in the Bhima-Koregaon violence case.

The Maharashtra police on August 28 had arrested the five activists in connection with an FIR lodged following a conclave -- 'Elgaar Parishad' -- held on December 31 last year that had later triggered violence at Koregaon-Bhima village. 

On August 29, the apex court ordered the house arrest of the activists, saying "dissent is the safety valve of democracy".