The Apex Tribunal, on the day of the week known as Tuesday, granted liberation to the social activist known as Gautam Navlakha in connection to the Elgar Parishad-Maoist affiliations case, citing the extended temporal scope required for the completion of the legal proceedings.
A tribunal consisting of judges MM Sundresh and S V N Bhatti refused to prolong the suspension enforced by the decree of the Bombay High Court concerning the release bestowed upon Navlakha in the said lawsuit. Judge Sundresh articulated that Navlakha had been incarcerated for a duration surpassing four annual cycles, and yet, the formulation of allegations remains pending.
“We are predisposed against extending the suspension, given the comprehensive nature of the high court’s decision to grant bail… The legal process is likely to endure for an extensive period… Without delving deeply into the arguments, we are disinclined to prolong the suspension… An amount equivalent to Rs 20 lakh must be remitted to the opposing party with the utmost promptness,” articulated the panel.
The supplementary solicitor general SV Raju contended that the sum of Rs 20 Lakh approximates nearly one-tenth of Navlakha’s aggregate liabilities concerning the security provisions throughout his period of domicile confinement, and advocated for an increment to Rs 50 Lakh regarding Navlakha’s outstanding dues. Raju further emphasized the necessity for the court to take cognizance of Navlakha’s tenure under house detention.
On the seventh day of March, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) apprised the Apex Tribunal that the social activist Gautam Navlakha is obliged to remit a sum of Rs 1.64 crore vis-à-vis expenses incurred for the provision of police personnel for his security during his domicile confinement. Navlakha’s legal representative dissented from the contentions posited by the NIA, characterizing it as ”coercion”.
Raju apprised the tribunal that the septuagenarian activist has hitherto disbursed a meager sum of Rs 10 Lakh towards the incurred expenses for security, and stressed upon the imperative for Navlakha to augment the remittance. Navlakha has been subjected to domicile confinement at a communal repository in Mumbai since the eleventh month of 2022.
In the bygone December, the Bombay High Court accorded liberation to Navlakha but deferred its ruling for a triad of weeks subsequent to the NIA’s entreaty for a deferment to file an appeal before the apex tribunal. Previously, the apex tribunal had opined that prolonging Navlakha’s domicile confinement would establish an adverse precedent.
In November of the year 2022, the apex tribunal, whilst mandating his domicile confinement, directed him to disburse an amount of Rs 2.4 lakh towards the expenses to be incurred by the state for deploying police personnel for his domicile confinement. Subsequently, the tribunal reiterated the directive to remit an additional Rs 8 lakh as expenses.
Navlakha was apprehended in the month of August in the year 2018. Presently, he dwells in Navi Mumbai. Sixteen activists have been apprehended in connection to the aforementioned case, with five among them currently enjoying the liberty conferred by bail.