The Bombay High Court has recently granted bail to senior journalist and human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, who is an accused in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case over alleged Maoist links. This decision was passed by a division bench headed by Justice AS Gadkari, making Navlakha the seventh accused to receive bail in this high-profile case.
Also read-Bombay High Court Dismisses PIL Based On Social Media Data (lawchakra.in)
Navlakha, aged 73, has been in custody since April 14, 2020. He was under house arrest after the Supreme Court, in 2022, allowed his transfer from jail due to his medical condition, subject to various conditions. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) requested the court to stay the order for six weeks; however, the court stayed it for three weeks.
The case against Navlakha includes serious allegations. He has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. These include charges of sedition, criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between different groups, and supporting terrorist activities. The NIA has accused him of furthering the agenda of the banned CPI (Maoist) and conspiring to overthrow the government. Additionally, Navlakha is alleged to have played a role in instigating the caste violence at Bhima Koregaon, a war memorial site in Pune, on January 1, 2018.
Also read-Punjab High Court Revisits Policemen’s Dismissal, Highlights Misuse Of UAPA And PMLA (lawchakra.in)
In the charge sheet, the NIA has alleged that Navlakha was a member of CPI (Maoist) and possessed incriminating documents related to it. They also claimed that he supported the Kashmir separatist movement and was actively involved in arranging meetings between urban cadres and underground leaders of CPI (Maoist) under the guise of fact-finding missions.
Navlakha’s journey to securing bail has been fraught with legal challenges. A special NIA court had rejected his regular bail application on September 5, 2022. However, the Bombay High Court directed that the bail application be decided afresh in March 2023, as the trial court’s order was deemed ‘cryptic.’ Following this, the trial court again rejected his bail application, leading to the current appeal in the High Court.
The detailed copy of the High Court’s order granting bail to Navlakha is awaited. This development in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case is a significant one, as it reflects the ongoing legal complexities and debates surrounding issues of civil liberties, human rights, and national security in India. The case continues to attract attention for its implications on the democratic rights of individuals and the role of state agencies in upholding these rights.
