The Bombay High Court on December 12 issued notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the regular bail plea filed by Delhi activist Gautam Navlakha who is one of the accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case..Navlakha moved the High Court after a special NIA court rejected his bail plea on September 5 this year. A bench of Justices AS Gadkari and PD Naik sought the response of NIA and posted the matter for further consideration on January 9, 2023. .Navlakha, who is human rights activist and former secretary of People's Union for Democratic Rights, was arrested in August 2018, but was initially placed under house arrest.He was later moved to Taloja Central Prison in Maharashtra in April 2020 after a Supreme Court order.However on November 10, the Supreme Court allowed his plea to be shifted back to house arrest for a month. This was extended by another month on December 13. He is presently residing in Navi Mumbai city of Thane district..In his bail plea filed through advocate Yug Mohit Chaudhry, Navlakha submitted that he was falsely implicated in the crime. Further submissions were as follows:It was not the case of the prosecution that Navlakha was present at the spot on the day of incident;There was nothing on record to connect Navlakha with larger conspiracy;Provisions of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) not applicable;No material in the chargesheet to show that Navlakha has in any matter intended or supported any act which disrupts the sovereignty or territorial integrity of India;Applicant is of advanced age and in prison for over a year..[Read Order]
The Bombay High Court on December 12 issued notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the regular bail plea filed by Delhi activist Gautam Navlakha who is one of the accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case..Navlakha moved the High Court after a special NIA court rejected his bail plea on September 5 this year. A bench of Justices AS Gadkari and PD Naik sought the response of NIA and posted the matter for further consideration on January 9, 2023. .Navlakha, who is human rights activist and former secretary of People's Union for Democratic Rights, was arrested in August 2018, but was initially placed under house arrest.He was later moved to Taloja Central Prison in Maharashtra in April 2020 after a Supreme Court order.However on November 10, the Supreme Court allowed his plea to be shifted back to house arrest for a month. This was extended by another month on December 13. He is presently residing in Navi Mumbai city of Thane district..In his bail plea filed through advocate Yug Mohit Chaudhry, Navlakha submitted that he was falsely implicated in the crime. Further submissions were as follows:It was not the case of the prosecution that Navlakha was present at the spot on the day of incident;There was nothing on record to connect Navlakha with larger conspiracy;Provisions of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) not applicable;No material in the chargesheet to show that Navlakha has in any matter intended or supported any act which disrupts the sovereignty or territorial integrity of India;Applicant is of advanced age and in prison for over a year..[Read Order]