Mumbai, Dec 17: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday allowed human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Elgar Parishad Maoist links case, to shift to his hometown in Delhi. The court, however, said that he will have to appear before the special NIA court for trial hearings as and when required.
Weekly Police Appearance And Travel Restrictions
A bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Shyam Chandak also directed Navlakha to appear every Saturday before the local police station in Delhi to mark his presence and not to leave Delhi without permission from the NIA court in Mumbai. He has also been asked to surrender his passport.
Mandatory Court Presence During Trial
“The applicant (Navlakha) will appear before the special court when the charges are framed and thereafter shall attend every date as required or directed by the special court, unless exempted by the court,” the High Court said.
Plea For Relaxation Rejected
Advocate Yug Chaudhary, representing Navlakha, sought relaxation of the condition requiring weekly appearance before the local police, requesting that it be reduced to once a month. He submitted that Navlakha was currently appearing once a month before the investigating agency.
Turning down the request, the bench observed that Navlakha “was entitled to his liberty, but he was not a free man yet”.
Court Notes No Flight Risk
The court had, on Tuesday, orally indicated that it was inclined to allow his plea to shift to Delhi. It had remarked that he was not a “flight risk”, noting that there had been no instances of him attempting to flee.
Background Of Bail And Case Status
Navlakha was granted bail in the case in 2023 by the High Court, with a condition that he shall not leave Mumbai without prior permission from the trial court.
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He had initially approached the special NIA court seeking permission to stay in Delhi, stating that it was his hometown. However, the request was rejected, following which he approached the High Court. He has contended that the trial in the case is not likely to commence soon.
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