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Elgar Parishad case: Navlakha moves Pune court for anticipatory bail
Court of Additional Sessions Judge SR Navandar will hear his plea on November 7
Civil rights activist Gautam Navlakha, accused in Elgar Parishad case, on Tuesday approached the Pune sessions court through his lawyer Yug Chaudhry for anticipatory bail.
The court of Additional Sessions Judge SR Navandar will hear his plea on November 7. The court is also hearing the bail applications made by six among the nine activists — Sudha Bharadwaj, Shoma Sen, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Rona Wilson, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferriera, Sudhir Dhawale and Vara Vara Rao — arrested in the case.
On October 15, the Supreme Court had granted four weeks of interim protection from arrest to Navlakha in the case registered under sections of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (Uapa) and various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including waging a war and sedition. The interim protection is slated to end on November 12. Navlakha allegedly has links to banned organisation Communist Party of India (Maoist), according to the police.
According to the police, “inflammatory” speeches and “provocative” statements at the Elgar Parishad conclave held on December 31, 2017, had triggered violence at Koregaon Bhima on January 1, 2018.
While under interim protection from the apex court, the Bombay High Court directed the activist and legal representative to approach the sessions court in Pune to ensure expedited hearing of the anticipatory bail application. The order was passed by high court judge Prakash D Naik on Monday.
Subsequently, the anticipatory bail application was withdrawn from the high court and an application was filed in the Pune sessions court.
In his application, advocate Chaudhry has attached two books written by Navlakha on political issues. “He has written two books and 20 articles. The things that they are saying are secret, he has written about it in the public domain,” said Chaudhry while submitting his application.
Ujjwala Pawar, district government pleader and the public prosecutor in the case, will present her say on Thursday morning.
