Elgar Parishad case: 'Considering allowing house arrest request of Navlakha'

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it was considering allowing house arrest request of activist Gautam Navlakha incarcerated in connection with the Elgar ParishadMaoist link caseThe top court asked Additional Solicitor General S V Raju appearing for the National Investigation Agency NIA to seek instructions and inform it about restrictions that can be placed on Navlakha while keeping him under house arrest for few daysA bench of justices K M Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy said it will pass the order Thursday after hearing the ASGHe is a 70yearold man We dont know how long he will live Certainly he is going towards the inevitable Its not that we are going to release him on bail He is not going to enjoy the default bail which comrade Sudha Bharadwaj got We are conscious that we have to tread carefully We agree that house arrest as an alternative has to be used carefullyWe are concerned about what restriction would you like to place Place whatever restrictions Its not that he is going to destroy the country At least let him remain in house arrest for a few days Lets try to work it out the bench saidSenior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for Navlakha said the medical reports show that theres no possibility of him being treated in jailTheres no way in the world you can get this kind of treatmentmonitoring done in jail Hes had alarming weight loss This kind of treatment is not possible in jail Sibal saidAdditional Solicitor General S V Raju appearing for the NIA submitted that there is nothing wrong with NavlakhaWe will provide mattress and cot everything We will allow him to bring home food also he saidThe top court on September 29 had directed the Taloja jail superintendent to immediately shift Navlakha to Mumbais Jaslok hospital for treatmentIt had said receiving medical treatment is a fundamental right of a prisonerThe activist appealed to the apex court 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 Taloja jail near Mumbai where he is lodgedThis 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