Elgar case: Anand Teltumbde withdraws foreign travel plea after HC shows reluctance

Mumbai: Academician Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, on Wednesday withdrew his petition seeking permission to travel abroad to deliver lectures after the Bombay High Court expressed its disinclination to allow it.

A bench headed by Justice A S Gadkari, while noting that it was not inclined to allow the plea, said Teltumbde could give the lectures virtually.

Teltumbde's counsel Mihir Desai pointed out to the court that the activist would also be required to hold seminars.

The HC, however, expressed its disinclination and also noted that a special court recently rejected an application filed by Teltumbde seeking discharge from the case.

Desai then sought to withdraw the petition, which the high court allowed.

The prosecuting agency, NIA, had opposed the petition, claiming that there is a likelihood of his absconding and seeking asylum in foreign countries.

Teltumbde moved HC in March, seeking permission to travel abroad in April and May for academic purposes.

The academician and activist, who is presently out on bail, in his plea said he had been invited to the Netherlands and the United Kingdom to deliver lectures on Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) opposed the plea, claiming that Teltumbde and the other accused in the case are facing serious and heinous charges of spreading the ideology of Maoism and Naxalism.

The agency had said there was no need for Teltumbde to physically travel abroad and that those lectures could be delivered online.

The NIA alleged that Teltumbde is a senior and active member of the banned outfit CPI (Maoist) and is using his academic position to continue his nefarious activities.

Teltumbde, in his plea, claimed he was a leading authority on Dr Ambedkar, the Dalit movement, caste, public policy and democratic rights in India.

The University of Amsterdam had selected Teltumbde for a four-week programme in April to attend seminars, give lectures and conduct classes with PhD candidates and for meeting with individual scholars and faculty, the petition said.

He had also been invited by Leiden University in the Netherlands to deliver a lecture on April 16. Further, Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom had also invited him as Scholar-in-Residence for the first two weeks in May, it added.

The petition also mentioned invitations by three more universities in the UK, including the University of Oxford.

The activist in his plea sought a direction for the release of his passport so that he could complete the visa formalities.

On November 18, 2022, the Bombay High Court granted regular bail to Teltumbde. Later, on an appeal by the NIA, the Supreme Court decided not to interfere with the HC's order.

The case against Teltumbde and other activists relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held at Shaniwarwada in Pune, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon Bhima war memorial.

The Pune Police, which probed the case before it was transferred to the NIA, claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists.