MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to senior journalist and Bhima Koregaon case accused activist Gautam Navlakha, who is alleged to have Maoist links. The division bench of the Bombay High Court, headed by Justice AS Gadkari and SG Dighe, passed the bail order. Navlakha, a 73-year-old activist, is the seventh accused to be granted bail in this case, following Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao, Anand Teltumbde, Vernon Gonsalves, and Arun Ferreira.
After the National Investigation Agency (NIA) urged the court to stay the order for a period of six weeks, the court stayed the order for three weeks. Navlakha has been under house arrest since 2022, following the Supreme Court’s decision to allow his transfer from jail due to his medical condition, subject to various conditions.
A human rights activist, Navlakha has been in custody since April 14, 2020. Initially lodged in prison, he was later shifted to his house and placed under house arrest in November 2022 after the SC granted his plea, citing his advanced age. He has been under house arrest in Navi Mumbai, in the Thane district.
A special NIA court, on September 5, 2022, rejected Navlakha’s regular bail application. However, as the bail order lacked reasoning, the HC directed the bail application to be decided afresh in March 2023, calling the trial court’s order ‘cryptic.’ The trial court again rejected his bail application, leading Navlakha to file present appeal in the High Court.