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

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday permitted human rights activist Gautam Navlakha accused in the Elgar ParishadMaoist 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 requiredA 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 courtThe 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 saidNavlakhas 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 monthThe bench however refused saying Navlakha was entitled to his liberty but he was not a free man yetOn Tuesday the court orally remarked that Navlakha was not a flight risk as there have not been any instances where he tried to escapeThe 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 courtThis year he filed an application before the special National Investigation Agency NIA court seeking permission to stay in Delhi as it is his hometownThe court however refused the plea following which he moved the HCIn his plea Navlakha said the trial in the case was not likely to commence soon and that he cannot afford to live in Mumbai anymoreThe NIA has accused Navlakha of being a coconspirator who was involved in propagating Maoist activities and ideology under the instructions of leaders of the banned organisation the CPI MaoistThe 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 MaharashtraInitially the Pune police registered a case in 2018 alleging that the accused were involved in provocative speeches triggering violence at KoregaonBhima in Pune district the next day The case was later taken over by the NIAThe 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 MaoistThis 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