Bhima Koregaon Case: Bombay High Court Permits Accused Gautam Navlakha To Relocate To Delhi

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday relaxed the bail condition imposed on Elgar Parishad - Bhima Koregaon case accused Gautam Navlakha and permitted him to relocate to Delhi.

Navlakha had petitioned a division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Shyam Chandak contending that he is unable to afford living in Mumbai and should be allowed to return to his permanent residence in Delhi. One of the conditions of his bail mandated that he shall not leave Mumbai without prior permission of the special court.

When the matter was called out, additional solicitor general (ASG) Anil Singh furnished a copy of conditions to be imposed which stated:

- He will have to deposit his passport.

- Not leave Delhi without the permission of the Special Court in Mumbai.

- Report to local Police station every Saturday.

- Appear before the Special Court in Mumbai, as and when asked to.

Taking the same on record, the bench said that it would be passing orders to the said effect, during the day.

Notably, Navlakha through advocate Yug Chaudhary argued that his client, a 73-year-old man is living in Mumbai, away from his family since last two years and that now it has become unaffordable for him to continue living here. He therefore, urged the court to permit him to move back to Delhi and assured the court that he would attend every hearing from NIA office in Delhi.

On the other hand, NIA through ASG Singh argued that if he is permitted, a wrong precedent may be set as majority of the accused in the case are not residents of Mumbai and may seek similar reliefs.

The judges had on Tuesday, however, said that Navlakha may be feeling uprooted from his society, friend circle and family and thus expressed inclination to allow his plea.