The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing on a bail plea filed by human rights activist Gautam Navlakha challenging the Bombay High Court’s order rejecting his bail application in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case.
A two-judge bench of Justices Uday Umesh Lalit and K.M. Joseph heard the plea and decided to hear the matter on Friday as the first item on the board.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju sought one day’s accommodation, observing that it is not a regular bail application but a default bail application based on some hyper technical grounds. He submitted that a period of 34 days spent by Navlakha in house arrest be included.
On which, Justice Lalit said that notice was issued on March 15, then on further request the matter was postponed for further hearing to March 22, and then it came to be listed on March 25, this way it makes it hard to manage the board.
Advocate Kapil Sibal further requested the bench to list the matter for hearing as the first item on the board on Friday. To which, the Court agreed and granted time to petitioner to file the counter.
The petitioner has filed an SLP against the Bombay High Court’s order in which authorization of the detention by the Magistrate under Section 167(2) of Cr.P.C. was in question and particularly when the detention has been held to be unlawful, can this period of custody still be included in the 90 days period prescribed for grant of default bail.
The Bombay High Court held that the period from August 28, 2018 to October 1, 2018 has to be excluded from computing the period of 90 days as the said custody has been held to be unsustainable in law by the High Court of Delhi.
The High Court of Delhi had also set aside the order passed by the learned CMM on August 28, 2018 granting transit remand to the petitioner. Thereafter, the petitioner applied for Anticipatory Bail which came to be rejected at all stages and ultimately the petitioner surrendered on March 14, 2020.
The petitioner came to be arrested on October 28, 2018 at his residence in Delhi in connection with an FIR lodged following the Elgar Parishad held on December 31, 2017 and the Bhima Koregaon violence, a day after.