The Bombay High Court has granted bail to activist Gautam Navlakha, who was accused in Bhima Koregaon riot case of 2018.
A division bench comprising Justice AS Gadkari and Justice SG Dige while granting the bail to Navlakha imposed the same rules for bail as were given to the co-accused, Anand Teltumbde and Mahesh Raut.
The Bombay High Court has also stayed the bail order for three weeks,giving tim to the National Investigation Agency to appeal against the order before the Supreme Court.
Before Navlakha, about 6 more accused have been given isbail in the Bhima Koregaon case which includes Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao, Anand Teltumbde, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira.
Rao was granted bail on medical grounds, while another accused Raut is still awaiting release from prison as the stay on his bail order has been extended.
On August 8,the National Investigation Agency, while opposing the bail application of human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, told the Bombay High Court that the journalist was part of an urban movement to arrange logistics for the rural naxal movement.
NIA was represented by Additional Solicitor General Devang Vyas who argued that the “urban naxal wing” was a complementary part of the rural arms naxal struggle because it arranged logistics like manpower and funds.
The Assistant Solicitor General said that the Urban (naxal) movement is one of the main sources as it handles cadres to arrange logistics.
ASG added that the Urban movement is complimentary to rural arms struggle. One cannot have a mass movement with urban movement but it arranges logistics to give the belief as wide publicity as possible.
The senior counsel for NIA was not in the favour of the regular bail plea that was filed by Navlakha, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence case of 2018.
The plea by Navlakha was rejected by the special NIA court after re-hearing the same, as directed by the High Court. This has been challenged by Navlakha before the High Court.
The lawyer of Navlakha named Advocate Yug Mohit Chaudhary argued that a basic ingredient for invoking charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) is violence along with terrorism, association or conspiracy.
His said the provisions under UAPA cannot be invoked without violence.
The lawyer also highlighted Navlakha’s advanced age and the fact that the trial was yet to commence.
Chaudhary contended that discharge applications are still pending. There are 54 volumes of chargesheet with a total of 20,000 pages. There are over 370 witnesses.
The NIA counsel Vyas responded by stating that prima facie evidence showed there was a conspiracy within a larger conspiracy.
Gautam Navlakha has been charged under sections of 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
The ASG said that with regard to Navlakha, they may not have allegations of any violent act against him, but conspiracy with UAPA will be applicable against him.
He added that Prima facie investigation revealed these aspects. Navlakha conspired with other arrested and wanted accused persons to further the ideology of the Communist Party of India (Maoist).
It was also submitted that prime facie evidence show that every individual was assigned a role and performed