New Delhi. In a relief to jailed social activist Gautam Navlakha in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist connection case, the Supreme Court on Thursday granted his request for house arrest and said That prima facie there is no reason to reject his medical report.
A bench of Justices KM Joseph and Justice Hrishikesh Roy said the house arrest order of 70-year-old Navlakha should be implemented within 48 hours. Along with this, the court also imposed several conditions. “The matter is not likely to make progress towards disposal in the near future and charges are not being framed,” the bench said. We believe that he should be allowed to go under house arrest for a month.
The Supreme Court also directed Navlakha to deposit Rs 2.4 lakh with the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The NIA had claimed to have incurred this expenditure to provide the police personnel. The court also said that Navlakha would not be allowed to use the computer and internet during the one-month house arrest.
The bench said, the petitioner shall not use computer, internet or any other means of communication while under house arrest. However, they will be allowed to use mobile phones provided by policemen once a day for 10 minutes in the presence of police but without internet.
The top court also said that Navlakha will not be allowed to leave Mumbai and that he will not try to influence witnesses in any manner while under house arrest. It said watching television and reading newspapers would be allowed but these should not be internet based. We expect the petitioner and the accomplices to faithfully comply with all the conditions, the bench said. Any violation will be taken seriously and the order is liable to be canceled with immediate effect. (Language)
