THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, May 14: The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to activist Gautam Navlakha in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist connection case.
Justice MM Sundaresh and Justice SVN Bhatti refused to extend the Bombay High Court’s stay on Navlakha’s bail in this case.
The Supreme Court also directed Navlakha to pay Rs 20 lakh as security expenses during his house arrest.
SC says Navlakha had been in jail for over four years
The Supreme Court stated that it would not extend the stay period in the case of Navlakha, as detailed explanations regarding granting bail have been provided in the High Court’s order.
The court emphasized that the trial may take several years to complete. It was mentioned that without thorough consideration of the disputes, the stay period would not be extended.
The respondent party must make a prompt payment of Rs. 20 lakh, the Supreme Court stated.
It noted that Navlakha has been in jail for over four years without the charges being determined.
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It’s worth noting that the Bombay High Court had granted Navlakha bail on December 19 last year, but subsequently, the NIA requested time to file an appeal in the Supreme Court, resulting in the High Court imposing a stay on its order for three weeks.
“We are inclined to not extend the stay as high court order is detailed in granting bail. Trial would take years and years and years for completion. Without going at length into contentions, we will not extend the stay. A sum of Rs 20 lakh to be paid to the opposite party as earliest,” the bench stated.
SC allowed Navlakha to be placed under house arrest in November
The Supreme Court had allowed Navlakha, who was arrested in August 2018, to be placed under house arrest in November last year. He is currently living in Navi Mumbai.
This case pertains to the alleged inflammatory speech given at the Elgar Parishad conference held in Pune on December 31, 2017.
Police claim that the next day violence broke out near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial. 16 workers were arrested in this case. Five of them are currently on bail.
