Anand Teltumbde’s ordeal in ‘fakest’ case
Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this Constitution Day insisted that fulfilling fundamental duties should be the “first priority of citizens to take the nation to greater heights”—yes, the Prime Minister chose to emphasise on citizens’ duties rather than citizens’ rights—Dalit scholar and activist Anand Teltumbde was preparing to walk out to freedom from Taloja jail in Maharashtra after two and a half years of ‘wrongful’ incarceration.
The Constitution of India lists freedom as a Fundamental Right. The Supreme Court has time and again underlined that ‘bail, not jail’ must be the thumb rule. Ironically, Modi was addressing the Constitution Day event at the Supreme Court on Saturday when he emphasised on fundamental duties for citizens.
Teltumbde had been granted bail first by the Bombay High Court and reaffirmed by the Supreme Court that threw out NIA’s appeal against the bail.
After coming out of jail, Teltumbde said, “I am happy at being released from prison after 31 months. It is obvious, but the sad thing is that this is the fakest case and it put us behind bars for years.”
Significantly, Teltumbde was granted bail on ‘merit’, which means no prima facie case was made out against him.
The NIA also tried to link Anand Teltumbde with his younger brother Milind Teltumbde—a Maoist leader who died in an encounter in 2021—but could not produce evidence in the court.
After Sudha Bharadwaj and poet Varvara Rao, Anand Teltumbde is the third accused in the Elgar Parishad case who has been granted bail.
While ‘revolutionary poet’ Varavara Rao is currently out on bail on health grounds, lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj is out on regular bail. She has restarted law practice after spending three years in prison.
Teltumbde’s friend and journalist-activist Gautam Navlakha was also arrested under the UAPA in the Elgar Parishad case and has been put under house arrest on health grounds in Mumbai.
Journalists, human rights activists, filmmakers, and people from all walks of life celebrated Teltumbde’s release.
Congress leader and Dalit activist Jignesh Mevani called Teltumbde a true inheritor of Ambedkar’s legacy.
