The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to Bhima Koregaon-accused Gautam Navlakha subject to the payment of Rs 20 lakh for his house arrest.
The order was passed by the Bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice SVN Bhatti on a petition filed by the National Investigative Agency against the Bombay High Court order granting bail to Navlakha.
The activist was arrested on April 14, 2020, for his alleged involvement in the violence that erupted at Bhima Koregaon village in Pune district on January 1, 2018.
In November 2022, the Supreme Court had placed the journalist under house arrest, owing to his ill health.
The Bombay High Court had granted bail to Navlakha in December 2023 on the grounds that there was no material to infer that Navlakha had committed a terrorist act as contemplated under Section 15 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The Bench of Justice AS Gadkari and Justice Shivkumar Dige, however, stayed its order for the weeks after the NIA sought time to challenge it in the Supreme Court. This stay was extended for a couple of times by the Apex Court.
In today’s order, the Bench lifted this interim stay after categorically noting that Navlakha has been incarcerated for more than four years and the trial would take ‘years and years and years’ for completion.
The Apex Court further took into consideration the relevant factors, including that charges have not been framed.