NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed social activist Gautam Navlakha to come out on bail in Elgar Parishad case by lifting the stay on operation of Bombay high court order which had granted bail to him.
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 court observed that Navlakha has been in jail for over four years and charges are yet to be framed in the case.
Sixteen activists have been arrested in the case, with five of them currently out on bail.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed social activist Gautam Navlakha to come out on bail in Elgar Parishad case by lifting the stay on operation of Bombay high court order which had granted bail to him. He has been under house arrest on SC order.A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and S V N Bhatti also directed Navlakha to pay Rs 20 lakh towards expenses for security during his house arrest.The bench noted, "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 court observed that Navlakha has been in jail for over four years and charges are yet to be framed in the case. The Bombay High Court had granted bail to Navlakha on December 19, 2022, but stayed its order for three weeks after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) sought time to file an appeal in the SC.In November 2022, the SC permitted Navlakha to be placed under house arrest, and he is currently residing in Navi Mumbai.The case is related to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which police claim triggered violence the following day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the city. Sixteen activists have been arrested in the case, with five of them currently out on bail.
