Mumbai:The Bombay High Court on Tuesday directed the Maharashtra government to file its replies to petitions filed by activists Rona Wilson and Shoma Sen, seeking quashing of charges against them in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
A bench of Justices S S Shinde and Manish Pitale also directed the NIA, which is conducting a probe into the case, to file its reply to Sen's petition.
Wilson and Sen filed their pleas in the HC earlier this year, citing the report of US-based firm Arsenal Consulting which claimed electronic evidence had been planted on Wilson's computer.
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The petitioners claimed such tampering of evidence had been done to frame Wilson and his co-accused in the case.
Last week, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed its reply to Wilson's plea and disputed the US firm's report.
The probe agency said it was refuting the allegations and claims made in the report, and urged the HC to dismiss Wilson's plea.
On Tuesday, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, who appeared for the NIA, sought additional time to file a reply to Sen's plea.
The petitioners' counsel, senior advocate Indira Jaising, told the HC that in the pleas they had also challenged the sanction granted by the Maharashtra government in 2018 to prosecute the petitioners under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
She claimed the sanction had been granted without due application of mind. Since the state was the sanctioning authority, it must file its reply to both the pleas, she said.