The Supreme Court has resumed the hearing in the arrests of five activists made by Maharashtra Police in relation to the Bhima-Koregaon violence on January 1, 2018.

Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj, and Gautam Navlakha were arrested and remain under house arrest as directed by the apex court.

Senior lawyer Maninder Singh appearing for the Central govt told the Supreme Court that the menace of Maoists and Naxalites is increasing day by day, and it is these accused persons who are responsible for the increasing threat of the anti-social activities.

Singh questioned the way the petitioners had directly approached the Supreme Court, and said, "they have options to approach the lower court, high courts or even other legal options to seek redressal." 


CJI Dipak Misra observed, "We entertained the case on the foundations of liberty. Issues like independent enquiry, etc, comes at a later stage."