Bhima-Koregaon: 5 Judges Recuse From Hearing Navlakha’s Plea

On 13 September, Bombay HC had refused to quash the FIR lodged against Navlakha in the Koregaon-Bhima violence case.

Justice Ravindra Bhat, on Thursday 3 October, recused himself from hearing the petition filed by activist Gautam Navlakha, challenging the Bombay High Court judgment that refused to quash the FIR registered by Pune police against him, news agency ANI reported. The FIR charges Navlakha with inciting violence at Koregaon Bhima in Pune on 1 January 2018.

Bhat becomes the fifth judge to recuse himself from the case, after CJI Ranjan Gogoi, Justice NV Ramana, R Subhash Reddy and BR Gavai all had excused themselves earlier this week.

"List the matter before a bench in which I am not the party", the Chief Justice had said on Monday, 30 September.

The matter had been listed before a bench of the Chief Justice and Justices SA Bobde and S Abdul Nazeer.