The Bombay High Court has granted bail to activist Gautam Navlakha, who was detained in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case dating back to 2018. Navlakha, 70, had been under house arrest owing to health concerns. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) requested a six-week suspension of the order to file an appeal in the Supreme Court, and the High Court granted a three-week extension to the agency.
Gautam Navlakha was apprehended in August 2018, and in November of the following year, the Supreme Court sanctioned his house arrest in Navi Mumbai. The recent bail granted by the High Court to Navlakha amounted to a surety of ₹1 lakh.
Navlakha is the seventh accused in the Elgar Parishad case to receive bail. A prior attempt to secure bail in April was denied by a special court on grounds of alleged connections with the banned CPI (Maoist).
Challenging the special court’s decision, Navlakha filed an appeal in the High Court, marking his second attempt for regular bail. Previously, the NIA had contested his bail plea by alleging his association with a Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) General for recruitment, citing it as evidence of his nexus with the organization. However, the High Court criticized the special court’s ruling for lacking in-depth analysis of the prosecution’s evidence.
Consequently, the High Court directed the special judge to conduct a fresh hearing, necessitating a conclusion within four weeks. Subsequently, Navlakha petitioned the special court for a re-hearing on his bail plea, which was rejected, leading to the current appeal.
The case stems from alleged inflammatory speeches made during the Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune on December 31, 2017, which authorities claim incited violence near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of Pune the following day.
Navlakha’s successful appeal for bail in the Bombay High Court represents a significant turn in the legal proceedings associated with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
Sources By Agencies