Four days after SC order, activist Navlakha yet to be placed under house arrest

Jailed human rights activist Gautam Navlakha who was last week allowed to be placed under house arrest for a month by the Supreme Court owing to his medical condition is yet to walk out of Navi Mumbais Taloja prison where he is lodged in connection with the Elgar ParishadMaoist links case as formalities for his release are still under processThe 70yearold activist who claims to suffer from multiple ailments is in custody since April 2020 in the 201718 case On November 10 the Supreme Court allowed Navlakha to be put under house arrest for a month with certain conditions and had said its order should be implemented within 48 hoursHowever till Monday evening he was still in prison as formalities for his release could not be completedAccording to his lawyer formalities for Navlakhas release from jail were initiated on Monday before a special NIA National Investigation Agency court in Mumbai that is hearing the case against himOnce released from prison Navlakha will be staying at Belapur in Navi Mumbai under surveillance The septuagenarian shall not be allowed to leave Mumbai as per the SC orderAlso Read Womans body chopped into 35 parts DCW asks police to submit report by Nov 18His lawyer on Monday apprised special NIA Judge Rajesh Katariya presiding over the case of the Supreme Court order on house arrest and initiated the process for filing surety as per the condition set by the apex court to complete his release formalitiesThe SC had imposed a slew of conditions by which Navlakha would have to stay in Mumbai deposit Rs 24 lakh as expenses for security CCTV cameras would have to be installed outside the rooms and at entry and exit points of the house where he will be stayingNavlakha will not be allowed to leave the house except for walks in the company of police personnel but permitted to meet his lawyers as per Jail Manual rules and inform cops in case of a medical emergency the apex court said last weekIt also said the activist will not be allowed to use a computer or the internet during the period of his house arrest He will however be permitted to use a mobile phone without the internet provided by police personnel on duty once a day for ten minutes in their presenceAccess to television and newspapers will be allowed but these cannot be interestbased the SC maintained in its orderIt also allowed the Maharashtra police to search and inspect the residence and said the accommodation would be under surveillanceThe Supreme Court has listed the matter for hearing in the second week of December by when the prosecuting agency NIA has been asked to obtain a fresh medical report on the accusedNavlakha had sought to be shifted from the Taloja prison and placed under house arrest owing to ill healthThe activist moved the SC against the April 26 order of the Bombay High Court dismissing his plea for house arrest over apprehensions of lack of adequate medical and other basic facilities in the Taloja jailThe case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31 2017 which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra cityAccording to the Pune police people linked to banned Naxalite groups had organized the programmeThe case in which over a dozen activists and academicians have been named as accused was later handed over to the NIAThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever