A day after Bombay High Court asked the Bhima Koregaon case accused Vernon Gonsalves to explain why he kept “objectionable material” like a copy of ‘War and Peace’, the court clarified that he did not mean Leo Tolstoy’s classic, but a book by Biswajit Roy.
Expressing anguish over “misinterpretation of questions”, Justice Sarang Kotwal on Thursday, 29 August, added that he did not mean to suggest that all the books seized by Pune police in the case were incriminating.
The Other War & Peace
The court's latest comments came after the counsel for Gonsalves informed it that none of the books seized from the activist's residence last year were banned by the government in accordance with CrPC provisions.
Yug Chaudhary, counsel for co-accused Sudha Bhardwaj, told the court that the 'War and Peace' that the court had referred to on Wednesday was a collection of essays edited by one Biswajit Roy, and was titled ‘War and Peace in Junglemahal: People, State and Maoists.’
“I was reading the list of all books and CDs seized, and even then, didn’t mean that all material was incriminating,” Justice Sarang Kotwal said, as quoted by Bar and Bench.
Justice Kotwal further said “What was reported was disturbing. It was not for me but for the institution of which you (lawyers) also are a part,” as per Bar and Bench.
The Comments That Kicked Controversy
On Wednesday, the single-judge bench of Justice Sarang Kotwal, hearing the bail plea of Gonsalves and others, had said "such books" and CDs prima facie indicated that they contained some material against the State.
The classic novel about Russia during Napoleonic wars became a point of contention after Pune Police claimed the book was part of the "highly incriminating evidence" it had seized from Gonsalves' house in Mumbai during raids conducted a year ago.
Pune Police also read out titles of several other books and CDs allegedly recovered from Gonsalves' house, which included CDs titled 'Rajya Daman Virodhi' released by Kabir Kala Manch.
"The title of the CD 'Rajya Daman Virodhi' itself suggests it has something against the state while 'War and Peace' is about a war in another country. Why did you (Gonsalves) keep objectionable material such as books like 'War and Peace', books and CDs at home? You will have to explain this to the court," Justice Kotwal had said.
‘War In Another Country?’
Many people on Twitter, including senior journalists Siddharth Varadarajan, pointed that Justice Kotwal had referred to “war in another country” while Junglemahal was in India.
Gonsalves was arrested by the Pune police under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act after raids at residences and offices of several activists in connection with the Elgar Parishad case.
The police had claimed provocative speeches made at the Parishad on 31 December 2017 were responsible for the caste violence around Koregaon Bhima village in Pune district the next day during an event to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima.
(With inputs from PTI)
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