Human rights activist Gautam Navlakha.
Credit: PTI Photo
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the NIA to file its reply within four weeks to a plea by activist Gautam Navlakha, who is under house arrest at a Mumbai public library in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, seeking a change of address.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and J B Pardiwala was told by Navlakha's lawyer that the apex court had directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to file its reply in April but it has not submitted its response till date.
On November 10, 2022, the top court had allowed Navlakha, who was then lodged in Navi Mumbai's Taloja prison, to be placed under house arrest owing to his deteriorating health.
Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the NIA, had opposed the order of house arrest.
While ordering his house arrest, the court had initially directed the activist to deposit Rs 2.4 lakh as expenses to be borne by the state for making available police personnel to effectively facilitate placing the petitioner under house arrest.
On the last date of the hearing, the apex court had directed Navlakha to deposit another Rs 8 lakh as an expense for making available police personnel for his security.
The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which police claim triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the city.