On Tuesday, the Bombay High Court approved bail for Gautam Navlakha in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case. Justice A S Gadkari, leading a division bench, granted Navlakha’s bail plea. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) requested a six-week stay on the order to enable them to file an appeal in the Supreme Court. However, the bench only stayed the order for three weeks.
In August 2018, Gautam Navlakha was arrested, and in November of the following year, the Supreme Court granted permission for him to be placed under house arrest. Currently, he resides in Navi Mumbai.
Gautam Navlakha has been granted bail by the Bombay High Court on a surety of ₹1 lakh, becoming the seventh accused in the case to receive bail.
Earlier in April this year, a special court had denied bail to Gautam Navlakha, citing prima facie evidence suggesting his active involvement with the banned outfit CPI (Maoist).
In his appeal submitted to the high court, Gautam Navlakha argued that the special court had made a mistake in denying him bail. This marks Navlakha’s second attempt to secure regular bail through an appeal in the high court.
Previously, Navlakha had approached the high court when his regular bail plea was turned down by the special NIA court in September of the previous year.
The NIA opposed Navlakha’s bail application, alleging that he had been introduced to a General from Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for recruitment, indicating his connection with the organization.
Earlier in August, a special court in Mumbai issued the release order for accused Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, charged in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, after the Supreme Court granted them bail.
Gautam Navlakha sought clemency for a Pakistani ISI agent in a U.S. court
Navlakha had reportedly visited the United States thrice in the period between 2010-2011 and written to a US district court judge seeking clemency for Fai, who was arrested by the FBI in 2011 on the charges of accepting funds to the tune of several million from the ISI and the Pakistan government.
Citing the US court order from 2012, the NIA charge sheet read: “Ghulam Nabi Fai was arrested by the FBI in July 2011 for accepting funds from ISI and Pakistan Government, but failed to report the origin of those funds, as required by US law. It is established that, accused Gautam Navlakha had written a letter to the Hon’ble Judge of the US court trying Ghulam Fai’s case for clemency. Accused Gautam Navlakha has also submitted letters to the Hon’ble US court on behalf of Fai.”
Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case
The Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case pertains to an event organised at Shaniwar Wada called Elgar Parishad on December 31, 2017. The following day, i.e January 1, 2018, large-scale violence broke out at Bhima Koregaon, where lakhs of Dalits had gathered to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon, won by the British Army—comprising mostly soldiers from the Dalit community—against the Peshwas in 1818.
An FIR was filed in connection with the violence on January 8 after which Pune Police kickstarted a probe into it. According to the police, the event was organised as a part of alleged Maoist activity and the accused were members of the proscribed group.
A total of 16 accused have been apprehended in the case, with five presently released on bail. Anand Teltumbde, Sudha Bharadwaj, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, and Mahesh Raut are currently out on regular bail. Additionally, Varavara Rao has been granted bail on health grounds. Gautam Navlakha is the seventh accused to secure bail in this particular case.
