Bombay High Court asks government to consider Anand Teltumbde’s ‘genuine problems’

Jailed professor expressed inability to meet his mother by long train journey due to health issues

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday told the Maharashtra Government to “consider the genuine problems” faced by Professor Anand Teltumbde, accused in the Bhima Koregaon caste violence case, in taking a long train journey to meet his mother following the death of his brother in an encounter.

On March 2, the court had permitted Prof. Teltumbde to travel from March 8 to March 10 with police escort to meet his mother after his brother Milind’s death. Milind Teltumbde was among the 26 members of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) killed in an encounter in Gadchiroli district on November 13, 2021.

The Maharashtra Government informed the Division Bench of Justices Sunil Shukre and G.A. Sanap that Prof. Teltumbde had not undertaken the journey from Mumbai to Chandrapur. Mihir Desai, the senior advocate appearing for Prof Teltumbde, said his client had undergone a spinal MRI scan and his tooth molar had been extracted. Therefore, he wished to take a flight instead. The prosecutor objected because of the “prisoner’s attitude”.

Mr. Desai said, “It [his client’s response] is just exasperation.” The court then remarked, “In such matters, broad consideration is necessary. If he is there [in prison] with so many ailments [there should be consideration]....We don’t think from his [Anand Teltumbde’s] point of view there is any problem.”

Earlier, the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) probing the Bhima Koregaon case had opposed the plea and said, “The seriousness is that the person who has died was a wanted accused who was killed in an ambush.”

The court had, however, said, “A death is a death. He [Anand] may be an accused, he [Milind] may have been involved in activities, but then ultimately, he [Milind] was the present applicant’s [Anand] brother. There has been a loss of human life.”