Bhima Koregaon: Mumbai court rejects plea by Gautam Navlakha to relocate to Delhi

A special NIA court in Mumbai on Thursday rejected a plea by activist and accused in Bhima Koregaon violence, Gautam Navlakha, seeking permission to permanently relocate to Delhi. [Gautam Navlakha v National Investigation Agency]

Navlakha, currently out on bail in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case, moved the Court requesting relief from the bail condition that restricts him from leaving the jurisdiction of the Bombay High Court.

Special Judge Chakor Baviskar, presiding over the case, stated that while the High Court granting him bail had allowed Navlakha to travel outside Mumbai with prior permission, it did not authorize the trial court to permit him to reside elsewhere permanently.

“Granting permission to the accused to travel beyond the jurisdiction of the Court is different thing and allowing him to reside permanently beyond the jurisdiction of the Court is entirely different thing.. The Hon’ble High Court has not granted such liberty either to the applicant/accused or to this Court as well, this unnecessary application deserves to be rejected,” the judge said.

Navlakha, a Delhi-based journalist and human rights activist, is among the sixteen people arrested in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence that erupted on January 1, 2018.

Authorities allege that the violence was instigated by inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad event held a day prior on December 31, 2017, in Pune’s Shaniwar Wada.

The event was jointly organised by over 260 civil society groups to mark the bicentennial of the 1818 Battle of Bhima Koregaon, where Dalit soldiers of the British Army defeated the Peshwa-led Maratha forces.

In his application, Navlakha said that he and his partner, Sahba Hussain, have been unable to find stable housing in Mumbai for nearly four months. He also submitted that he has no employment, depended financially on friends and family, and wanted to reside in Delhi to be near his ailing 86-year-old sister.

He assured the court that Navlakha would continue to appear for trial and comply with all court directives. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), represented by Special Public Prosecutor Prakash Shetty, opposed the plea, arguing that the court had no authority to override bail conditions set by the Bombay High Court.

Rejecting the application, the court emphasized that the request to shift permanent residence fell outside its purview.

"This unnecessary application deserves to be rejected,” the Court ruled.

Advocate Wahab Khan appeared for Navlakha.

Special Public Prosecutor Prakash Shetty appeared for NIA.

[Read Order]