Social activist Gautam Navlakha, who was arrested in August 2018 in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, has been granted bail by the Supreme Court today. This decision comes after Mr. Navlakha had been placed under house arrest in November last year by the Supreme Court. He has been residing in Navi Mumbai during this period.
The bench of Justices MM Sundresh and SVN Bhatti declined to extend the stay imposed by the Bombay High Court order on Mr. Navlakha’s bail in the case. They emphasized that the high court’s order granting bail was detailed and expressed concern that the trial proceedings could be prolonged for years. Considering these factors, the bench decided not to extend the stay and directed Mr. Navlakha to pay ₹20 lakh towards expenses for security during his house arrest.
The Supreme Court took note of the fact that Mr. Navlakha had been in jail for over four years without the charges being framed in the case. The Bombay High Court had granted bail to Mr. Navlakha on December 19 last year but stayed its order for three weeks following a request from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to file an appeal in the Supreme Court.
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The Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case pertains to alleged provocative speeches made during the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claim incited violence near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial the following day. Sixteen activists have been arrested in connection with this case, with five of them currently out on bail.
In its ruling on Tuesday, the Supreme Court lifted the stay on the operation of the Bombay High Court’s order, allowing Gautam Navlakha to be granted bail in the Elgar Parishad case. It is to be noted that he has been under house arrest as per the Supreme Court’s previous order. Additionally, the court directed Mr. Navlakha to pay Rs 20 lakh out of the Rs 1.75 crore expenses incurred for his security during house arrest.
