The Supreme Court granted bail to activist Gautam Navlakha in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case on Tuesday.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and S V N Bhatti declined to extend the stay imposed by the Bombay High Court order on Navlakha’s bail in the case. The Court also directed Navlakha to pay Rs 20 lakh towards security expenses during his house arrest.
“We are inclined to not extend the stay as the High Court order provides detailed reasoning for granting bail. Considering the trial could take years to complete, we will not extend the stay. A sum of Rs 20 lakh must be paid to the opposite party at the earliest,” the bench stated.
The apex court observed that Navlakha has been in jail for over four years, and charges are yet to be framed in the case.
Navlakha, arrested in August 2018, was granted house arrest by the Supreme Court in November last year. He is currently residing in Navi Mumbai.
The case revolves around alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune on December 31, 2017, which police claim incited violence the following day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of Pune. Sixteen activists have been arrested in connection with the case, with five of them currently out on bail.
