Navlakha wrote to US Court seeking clemency for Pak ISI agent: Court

The NIA has claimed that Navlakha had visited the USA three times to address “Kashmiri American Council (KAC) Conference” organised by Fai. He was in touch with the ISI agent via e-mail and sometimes via phone. Fai was arrested by the FBI in July 2011 for accepting funds from ISI and the Pakistan government – purportedly for furthering the cause of Kashmiri separatists.

Slug: Elgar Parishad case

Srinagar, India - December 06: Human Rights Activists Gautam Navlakha speaks after displaying a report by two human rights groups during a press conference, in Srinagar, India, on Thursday, December 06, 2012. Human Rights groups released the names of 500 people, including 235 army personnels and 31 pro-government militants, for their alleged involvement in incidents of rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir during the last 20 years. (Photo by Waseem Andrabi/ Hindustan Times)

MUMBAI: Gautam Navlakha had written to a US Court and sought clemency for an agent of Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI), the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court has observed while rejecting the bail plea of the accused in Elgar Parishad case.

The April 6 order, which become available on Thursday, stated that the ISI agent — Syed Gulam Nabi Fai — was convicted of terror funding in the United States.

Special judge Rajesh Katariya relied upon the submissions of the prosecution that they recovered from Navlakha, documents named, “Supplemental Position Of The United States With Respect To Sentencing Factors,” which the NIA claims, pertains to the case against Fai lodged in USA.

“It prima facie shows a nexus between the applicant (Navlakha) and Syed Gulam Nabi Fai,” the court observed.

The NIA has claimed that Navlakha had visited the USA three times to address “Kashmiri American Council (KAC) Conference” organised by Fai. He was in touch with the ISI agent via e-mail and sometimes via phone. Fai was arrested by the FBI in July 2011 for accepting funds from ISI and the Pakistan government – purportedly for furthering the cause of Kashmiri separatists.

Further, the prosecution had alleged that Navlakha had “written a letter to the judge of the US court, trying Fai’s case, for clemency.” Besides, the prosecution had claimed that Navlakha was introduced to a Pakistani ISI general for his recruitment by Fai on the direction of ISI.

Navlakha had sought bail contending that his case be seen on the same lines as that of Anand Teltumbde, also an accused in the Elgar Parishad case, who has been released on bail. The defence pointed out several ailments suffered by Navlakha and his age.

The court observed that, “In view of seriousness of allegations made against the applicant, collective interest of community would overweigh in the case and the grounds put forth would not go in favour of applicant.”

Navlakha was arrested on August 28, 2018, for his alleged involvement in the Elgar Parishad case. He was released after an order from the Delhi high court on October 1, 2018. He was again arrested on April 14, 2020, after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by all courts, including the Supreme Court