Merely possessing certain literature which might be used to propagate violent actions cannot be charged as a “terrorist act” under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Supreme Court said on Friday, reported Bar and Bench.
A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia made the observation while granting bail to activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in the Bhima Koregaon case.
The National Investigation Agency had cited letters and other materials recovered from co-accused activists Surendra Gadling and Rona Wilson to allege that Gonsalves and Ferreira had links with the banned outfit Communist Party of India (Maoist).
However, the court held that none of the materials established that the two activists indulged in activities that could amount to “overawing any public functionary by means of criminal force”.
“The copies of the letters in which the appellants or any one of them have been referred, record only third-party response or reaction of the appellants’ activities contained in communications among different individuals,” the court observed, according to Bar and Bench.
Also read: Pune Police allegedly planted fake evidence on devices of Bhima Koregaon accused, reports Wired
Referring to the letters specifically, the judges said that they cannot be used to implicate Gonsalves and Ferreira as their contents are of the “nature of hearsay evidence, recovered from co-accused”.
The court observed held that…
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