Will apply for bail: Activist Vernon Gonsalves’ family

“Our legal team will take a call on this but we will file for bail,” said Gonsalves’ son, Sagar Abraham Gonsalves.
He said that his father was dismayed by the apex court’s 2-1 verdict to dismiss the plea filed by the petitioners for the allegations raised by the Pune Police to be investigated by an independent Special Investigation Team (SIT).

“He is an optimistic person and was prepared for the worst. So, this is the best that could have happened. We were hoping for a better outcome but four weeks at home is good,” he said.

Gonsalves and lawyers Arun Ferreira and Sudha Bharadwaj, activist Gautam Navlakha and poet Varavara Rao have been under house arrest since August 30 following the Supreme

Court’s intervention after Pune Police raided their homes and arrested them.
Sagar said the dissenting opinion written by Justice D Y Chandrachud, who was part of the three-judge bench that pronounced the verdict, was the only ray of hope for the petitioners. Justice Chandrachud raised questions on the fairness of the police investigation and pushed for the formation of an SIT.

Policemen are stationed outside Gonsalves’ Andheri East home for the past one month. The family is not allowed to
have visitors, apart from close relatives.

In Thane where Ferreira stays, residents of housing societies between Kabad Ali and Dhobi Ali were aware of the day’s importance. While some stepped out to drop their children to the school bus stops, they saw police personnel assemble in front of Sharon Apartments.

Ferreira has been under house arrest since August 30. On the fifth floor of the building, Pune Police personnel have been deployed and at the gate, Thane police personnel are checking that only residents enter the building.

The road leading up to Dhobi Ali had several cameras, all aimed at the fifth floor balcony, close to the road. But no one was spotted at the Ferreira residence.

“We get to know about the court proceedings only when the media gathers at our doorstep. Now, it is not even an inconvenience,” said a resident of Randive apartments, the building opposite Sharon Apartments.