Elgar case: Bombay HC permits accused Gautam Navlakha to shift to hometown Delhi

Mumbai, Dec 17 (PTI) The Bombay High Court on Wednesday permitted human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, to shift to his house in Delhi, but said he will have to appear before the special NIA court here for the trial hearings as and when required.

A bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Shyam Chandak said Navlakha shall appear every Saturday before the local police station in Delhi to mark his presence, surrender his passport and not leave Delhi without prior permission from the special court.

"The applicant (Navlakha) will appear before the special court when the charges are framed and then he shall attend every date as required or directed by the special court until and unless he is exempted by the court," the HC said.

Navlakha's counsel, Yug Chaudhary, sought relaxation of the condition to appear before the local police station once every week to once every month, submitting to the court that as of now he appears only once a month.

The bench, however, refused, saying Navlakha was entitled to his liberty, but he was not a free man yet.

On Tuesday, the court orally remarked that Navlakha was not a "flight risk" as there have not been any instances where he tried to escape.

The HC granted bail to Navlakha in the case in 2023, but a condition was imposed on him that he shall not leave Mumbai without prior permission from the trial court.

This year, he filed an application before the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court seeking permission to stay in Delhi, as it is his hometown.

The court, however, refused the plea, following which he moved the HC.

In his plea, Navlakha said the trial in the case was not likely to commence soon and that he cannot afford to live in Mumbai anymore.

The NIA has accused Navlakha of being a co-conspirator who was involved in propagating Maoist activities and ideology under the instructions of leaders of the banned organisation, the CPI (Maoist).

The case relates to inciting people and giving provocative speeches during an Elgar Parishad event organised by the Kabir Kala Manch at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which promoted enmity between various caste groups and led to violence resulting in loss of life and property and statewide agitation in Maharashtra.

Initially, the Pune police registered a case in 2018 alleging that the accused were involved in provocative speeches triggering violence at Koregaon-Bhima in Pune district the next day. The case was later taken over by the NIA.

The Elgar Parishad case has seen the arrest of 16 persons, including prominent lawyers, activists, and academicians, accused of furthering the cause of the banned CPI (Maoist). PTI SP GK