Bhima Koregaon Case Accused Gautam Navlakha Disputes NIA's Claim For Rs. 1.64 Crore Towards House Arrest Surveillance Expenses

This heated exchange occurred during a hearing where the human rights activist's plea for shifting his house arrest location in Mumbai was being considered, alongside the NIA's plea challenging a Bombay High Court order granting him bail in December last year. While issuing this verdict, the high court had suspended the operation of the bail order for three weeks. This stay was extended by the Supreme Court in January.

A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and SVN Bhatti was presiding over the two cases.

The last hearing of Navlakha's plea was deferred to allow the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to file a counter-affidavit in response to his request for a shift in location. During the courtroom exchange, Additional Solicitor-General SV Raju once again reiterated the central agency's concerns over the order of house arrest. In response, the bench revealed that it had 'reservations' about the November 2022 order, passed by a bench led by now-retired Justice KM Joseph, allowing Navlakha to be released from detention and placed under house arrest on grounds of his deteriorating health. Such an order, the court orally observed, might set the 'wrong precedent'.

During the hearing, ASG Raju also claimed that Navlakha is now required to pay one crore to meet the expenses for round-the-clock surveillance at the location where he is housebound. This figure, was however disputed by Senior Advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, appearing for the embattled activist. She argued that the central agency's calculation of the amount payable was wrong and contrary to the relevant rules. Besides this, she also informed the bench that a deposit of eight lakhs had already been made by Navlakha towards surveillance and security expenses in terms of the court's order in April.

Today, Ramakrishnan reiterated her objections to the NIA's monetary claim. She argued that the agency's demand for the payment of – now said to have exceeded one crore and sixty-four lakhs – from Navlakha was not correct, pointing to alleged inconsistencies when tested against extant rules and regulations governing such payments.

She said, “We have contested this amount and the matter needs to be heard.”

To which, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the probe agency, responded by insisting that Navlakha must first make the payment, highlighting that he has only paid ten lakhs so far.

Their tense exchange escalated as Ramakrishnan exclaimed, “They cannot demand one crore from citizens for keeping them in custody.”

The ASG retorted, “Citizens are not entitled to house arrest. Besides, they have agreed to make the payment.”

Ramakrishnan, however, continued to challenge the NIA's position, accusing the agency of 'extortion' –

“There is an upper limit. The rules state...Tax I pay, and I earn no money. Even by their own rules, this is not…And therefore there cannot be extortion. A poor man can never...”

However, the law officer quickly objected to the use of the term 'extortion', denying any such actions by the agency.

Ultimately, the judges intervened, reasoning that the dispute over the amount claimed by the National Investigation Agency would have to be adjudicated in a proper hearing. Accordingly, they directed the matter to be adjourned to a non-miscellaneous day in April. The stay on the Bombay High Court's bail order will continue until then. 

Background

Gautam Navlakha, an activist and senior journalist, along with 15 others have been accused by the National Investigation Agency of being responsible for the January 2018 caste violence at Bhima Koregaon in Pune, although one of them – Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy passed away in July 2021.

The Pune police and later, the NIA contended that inflammatory speeches at Elgar Parishad – an event to commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima – triggered the violent clashes that broke out between Maratha and Dalit groups near the village of Bhima Koregaon in Maharashtra. This led to the 16 activists being arrested for allegedly conspiring and planning the violence and charged with various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act based on letters and emails primarily retrieved from their electronic devices.

In April 2022, the Bombay High Court dismissed a petition filed by Navlakha in 2021 seeking to be shifted out of Taloja Prison and placed under house arrest on grounds of ill health. In November 2022, a Supreme Court bench comprising Justice KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy, however, allowed his appeal challenging the high court's order and directed him to be shifted to house arrest for a period of one month.

The court outlined a set of stringent conditions accompanying this relief, including continuous CCTV surveillance at his residence, as well as various restrictions on his movement outside the house, use of internet and electronic devices, including mobile phones, and interaction with his family members and legal representative. Navlakha was also directed to bear the expenses incurred for the surveillance and the cost of CCTV installation himself.

In the same month, the bench also dismissed an application filed by the NIA seeking the earlier order of the court to be vacated on account of his medical reports allegedly being 'vitiated by bias'. The following month, the court extended Navlakha's house arrest for another month. According to reports, he is still under house arrest in Mumbai, where he resides with his partner.

He was originally housed in a library building controlled by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), but has been compelled to seek alternative accommodation after trust wanted the place back. In May, Navlakha informed the Supreme Court that he has secured a rental place in Alibaug, but this choice came under scrutiny from the NIA. To allow the central agency to file a counter-affidavit, and Navlakha to find a suitable accommodation, the court in May last year allowed the hearing to be adjourned until the end of August.

Meanwhile, in September 2022, a special NIA court rejected Navlakha's bail application, observing that there was ample material in the charge sheet to establish a nexus between him and the offence. But earlier this year, in March, the Bombay High Court set aside this order, criticising it as 'cryptic', and directed the trial court to hear and decide Navlakha's plea afresh. After his second bail plea was rejected by the special NIA, the activist approached the high court again, which issued notice in June.

In December 2023, the Bombay High Court granted bail to Navlakha observing that there was no material to infer that he committed a terrorist act as contemplated under Section 15 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. However, at the NIA's request, the high court suspended the bail order for three weeks to enable the probe agency to challenge this verdict. This stay was extended by the Supreme Court in January, with a direction to place the matter before Chief Justice DY Chandrachud to take a call on listing the NIA's appeal with petitions relating to co-accused persons, or clubbing of all the connected matters pending before different benches of the top court.

Case Details

1. Gautam Navlakha v. National Investigation Agency & Anr. | Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No. 9216 of 2022

2. National Investigation Agency v. Gautam P Navlakha & Anr. | Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No. 167 of 2024

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