The Bombay High Court on Monday granted three weeks’ time to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), probing the Bhima Koregaon caste violence case, to file its reply on a plea by accused Anand Teltumbde, who has challenged the NIA court rejecting his bail.

A Division Bench of Justices S.S. Shinde and N.J. Jamadar was hearing a plea by Mr. Teltumbde challenging an order passed by Special NIA court judge D.E. Kothalikar on July 12 rejecting his default bail.

Mr. Teltumbde surrendered before the NIA office in Mumbai on April 14, 2020 after the Supreme Court denied him any relief. He was initially taken into NIA custody and is now lodged at the Taloja Central jail.

He was the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Petronet India Limited and an Indian Institute of Management graduate who taught at the Indian Institute of Technology. He has been booked in the Elgar Parishad case for his alleged links to the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). He has been charged with several Sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

Mr. Teltumbde and 15 others were booked by the Pune police where an offence was registered on January 8, 2018, alleging that they were spreading hatred through provocative songs, plays and speeches at Shaniwar Wada on December 31, 2017, which led to violence following the incident at Bhima-Koregaon.