Following is the timeline of events relating to the arrest of five rights activists by the Maharashtra Police for suspected Maoist links in which the Supreme Court today directed that they be kept under house arrest till September 6.
10:30 AM: Historian Romila Thapar and four other human right activists move SC against arrest of five rights activists by Maharashtra Police.
10:40 AM: SC agrees to hear at 3.45 pm plea by Thapar and others against arrest of activists.
10:45 AM: Delhi HC fixes for 2:15 pm hearing on plea of rights activist Gautam Navlakha, claiming his arrest by Maharashtra Police to be illegal.
Maharashtra Police tells Delhi HC that translated copies of documents not yet ready and will be given to Navlakha's counsel by 12 pm.
2:20 PM: Navlakha's counsel tells HC they have received certain documents, translated from Marathi to English, from Maharashtra Police at 12.30 pm.
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A junior counsel appearing for Navlakha said advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, who has to argue the matter, was busy in another court and urged that the case be taken up after some time.
3:30 PM: Hearing on plea of Navlakha resumes at Delhi HC.
3:55 PM: Navlakha's lawyers say they were not given complete bunch of documents.
HC says even it was not given complete set of translated copies of all documents.
3:59 PM: When can you give the documents, HC asks Maharashtra Police; says it is the question of a person's liberty.
4:00 PM: Why documents carrying grounds of arrest not translated from Marathi and not given to Navlakha, HC asks Maharashtra Police.
4:10 PM: Without translated documents, how could the magisterial court have applied its mind to issue transit remand order, asks HC.
4:13 PM: HC says it will examine legality of Maharashtra police action and transit remand order.
4:37 PM: Even if all other arrests in the matter are valid, it would not lend validity to this arrest (of Navlakha), says HC.
5:00 PM: SC orders that five rights activists, arrested in Bhima-Koregaon case, be kept under house arrest till September 6.
5:04 PM: The high court said it would pass a direction after going through the order of the Supreme Court.
5:06 PM: SC says dissent is the "safety valve of democracy" and adds if you do not allow these safety valves, it will burst.
5:07 PM: SC issues notice to Maharashtra government and its police on a plea against arrests of five human rights activists.
Matter to come up for hearing on September 6.
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