activist Gautam Navlakha. file. , Photo credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpkar
The Bombay High Court on June 12 issued notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on the second bail plea filed by social activist and journalist Gautam Navlakha. Bhima Koregaon caste violence of 2018,
A division bench of Justices AS Gadkari and SG Dige was hearing the bail application filed by Navlakha. House arrest After being shifted from Taloja Central Jail in November 2022. He surrendered before the NIA office in Delhi on April 14, 2021 and was charged with the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
He had applied for bail in an appeal against the trial court’s order rejecting his bail in April this year. The bench directed the NIA to file its reply and posted the matter for further hearing on June 28.
Mr. Navlakha’s plea was rejected by a special NIA court in April. The court had noted in its order that Navlakha was a member of the banned terrorist organization Communist Party of India (Maoist), which attacked and killed several government security forces.
He challenged this order in the High Court. The High Court termed the NIA court’s order as “cryptic” and said, “No reason whatsoever has been given by the trial court for rejecting his bail. It rejected his bail under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.” The reasoning in the order is very cryptic and does not contain any analysis of the evidence relied upon by the prosecution,” the court said.
The bench had set aside the trial court’s order and directed him to complete the application within four weeks. The special court again heard the bail plea and again rejected his bail and he again challenged the order in the High Court in June seeking its quashing. His plea referred to the observation by the court that “he is a member of a banned terrorist group which was incorrect and unwarranted”.
Earlier, the NIA had alleged that Mr. Navlakha has deep links with the CPI (Maoist) and supports the Maoist ideology and anti-government statements through his various lectures and videos. The purpose of these activities was to overthrow the government.