Gautam Navlakha Again Moves Bombay High Court Seeking Bail In Bhima Koregaon Case, Notice Issued To NIA

The Bombay High Court on Monday issued notice to the NIA on a fresh bail application filed by senior journalist Gautam Navlakha arrested in the Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad case and is accused of having CPI(Maoist) links.

The division bench headed by Justice AS Gadkari will now hear the matter on June 28, 2023.

Observing that the trial court gave cryptic reasoning while refusing Navlakha’s bail plea, the Bombay High Court on March 2, 2023, directed the Special NIA Court to hear and decide the case afresh. Navlakha has approached the HC after his bail plea was re-adjudicated and he was denied bail.

“The trial court has not given reasoning as required under section 43D(5) of the UAPA while rejecting the bail application. The reasoning stated in the order is very cryptic and there is no analysis”, the court had stated then stated.

Navlakha is currently under house arrest after Supreme Court allowed his transfer from jail to house arrest on account of his medical condition on November 10, 2022, subject to various conditions.

The 73-year-old human rights activist had been in custody since August 2018.

Navlakha has been booked under Sections 153(A), 505(1)(B), 117, 120(B), 121, 121(A), 124(A) & 34 of IPC and Sections 13, 16, 17, 18, 18(A), 18(B), 20, 38, 39 & 40 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

Navlakha is accused of furthering the banned CPI (Maoist)'s agenda and conspiring to overthrow the government. The NIA has also accused him of instigating the caste violence that erupted at Bhima Koregaon, a war memorial site in Pune, on January 1, 2018.

In the charge sheet, NIA has alleged that Navlakha was a member of CPI (Maoist) and possessed incriminating documents related to it. NIA also alleged that Navlakha supported the Kashmir separatist movement.

NIA had alleged before the Special Court that Navlakha was actively involved in fixing appointments and meetings between active urban cadres and underground leaders of CPI (Maoist) under the garb of fact-finding missions.

Case title – Gautam Navlakha v. National Investigation Agency