Anand Teltumbde refused to visit his mom despite court nod as he didn't want to travel by train: Govt to HC

The Maharashtra government and the NIA told the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that activist Anand Teltumbde an accused in the Elgar ParishadMaoist links case had refused to visit his mother despite the HC granting him permission as he was not satisfied with the travel conditions imposed by the courtTeltumbde had instead written a letter to the Taloja prison superintendent saying he intended to challenge the HC order before the Supreme Court This just shows Teltumbdes attitude the state governments counsel Sangeeta Shinde told the high courtBut Teltumbdes counsel Mihir Desai told the HC that he had personally spoken to his client and the latter had no intention of challenging the high courts orderThe HC said even if Teltumbde intended to challenge the HC order or wished to seek modification of the travel conditions he had the legal right to do soThe arguments took place while the HC was hearing a plea filed by Teltumbde who is lodged at the Taloja jail in neighbouring Navi Mumbai seeking regular bail in the caseOn March 2 this year a bench of Justices S B Shukre and G A Sanap had permitted Teltumbde to visit his mother who lives in the states Chandrapur district between March 8 and March 10 under police escort in the wake of the killing of his brother and Maoist leader Milind Teltumbde in an encounter with police in November last yearIn the order the HC had specified the train that Anand Teltumbde was to take to go Chandrapur and also said that while the undertrial scholar could meet his mother during the day he would have to spend the nights in police or judicial custodyOn Wednesday after Shinde submitted in a sealed cover the letter Anand Teltumbde had written to the prison superintendent advocate Desai told the court that Teltumbde had at that time undergone a spinal surgery at the staterun J J Hospital in MumbaiHe had completed the medical procedure of the spine and was in physical pain He was also to undergo a molar extraction so he thought he should not undertake a train journey He wanted to take a flight instead Desai saidHowever since there was a court order permitting the visit he thought he might be forcibly taken out of prison he saidBut Shinde and the NIAs counsel Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh told the HC that since the letter was written and signed by Teltumbde himself and mentioned explicitly his intention of filing an appeal there was clearly no coordination between the petitioner Teltumbde and his advocateThe high court bench however said even if Anand Teltumbde intended to challenge the HC order before the apex court or wished to litigate further to get the travel conditions modified he had the legal right to do soIn such matters a broad view or consideration is necessary He has spent over two years in custody He is there with so many ailments Looking at the condition of the prisoner his age etc we dont think that there is any problem the HC saidDesai reiterated that his client did not wish to go to the SC against the high courts orderHe Anand Teltumbde is 71 years old He wrote it out of exasperation Desai saidBut the states counsel said she had brought the letter to the HCs notice as she thought it was her duty as a court officerThis letter just shows the attitude of the petitioner He has been in custody for two years but now he doesnt want to go she saidThe HC will further hear the activists bail plea on March 30The Elgar Parishad case now being handled by the National Investigation Agency NIA relates to Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31 2017 which according to the Pune police was funded by MaoistsThe inflammatory speeches made there led to violence at the KoregaonBhima war memorial in Pune the next day the police had allegedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever