The book that was referred to by the Bombay High Court during the trial of Vernon Gonsalves on Wednesday was not War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy but a book called War and Peace in Junglemahal by Biswajit Roy, a Kolkata-based journalist. Vernon Gonsalves is an accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence case.

Yug Chaudhary, an advocate representing another accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, today told the high court that the media had wrongly reported that the court raised questions on the accused keeping a copy of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace.

"The book found in the punchnama of accused Vernon Gonsalves is War and Peace in Junglemahal: People, State and Maoists by Biswajit Roy. Not War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy," Yug Chaudhary said.

In response, the high court judge said what has been reported is disturbing for the institution (Bombay High Court). Justice Sarang Kotwal, to whom the statements were attributed, said he is "shocked" to know about what has been reported.

On Wednesday, there were media reports, including in IndiaToday.in, that wrongly reported that Justice Sarang Kotwal raised questions on the accused keeping a copy of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace.

Clarifying the matter, Justice Kotwal today said he knows Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace is a literary classic and that he didn't mean to suggest that all the books seized by Pune police in the Elgar Parishad-Koregaon Bhima case were incriminating.

The observation by Justice Sarang Kotwal came a day after media reports said he asked accused Vernon Gonsalves to explain why he kept "objectionable material" like a copy of Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace" at his home.

The court's latest comments came after the counsel for Gonsalves informed it that none of the books seized from the activist's residence last year were banned by the government in accordance with CrPC provisions.

Justice Kotwal said, "You have made your point about the books not being banned. Besides, yesterday, I was reading the whole list from the chargesheet. It was written in such poor handwriting. I know War and Peace [by Leo Tolstoy]. I was making a query on the entire list that police has mentioned [as evidence]."

Yug Chaudhary, who is counsel for co-accused Sudha Bharadwaj, then told the court that the War and Peace that the court had referred to on Wednesday was a collection of essays edited by one Biswajit Roy, and was titled War and Peace in Junglemahal: People, State and Maoists.

(With inputs from Press Trust of India.)

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