Mumbai, September 06, 2022 (PPI-OT):A Mumbai special court while denying bail to renowned writer and activist Gautam Navlakha in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, said, there is ample material against him in the charge sheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), notorious for implicating people critical of the Modi regime’s policies in India and occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

The offence is “very serious” in nature, special NIA court judge Rajesh J Katariya said while rejecting Navlakha’s bail plea. Gautam Navlakha is an Indian human rights activist and journalist. He has written on left-wing extremism and is a critic of Indian army and Modi government’s suppressive policies in Jammu and Kashmir. The order details were made available on Tuesday.

The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave, held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the city’s outskirts. The Pune police had also claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists.

The NIA later took over the probe into the case, in which more than a dozen activists and academicians were named as accused. Navlakha, 69, was arrested on August 28, 2018 for his alleged involvement in the case. He was initially kept under house arrest, but was later sent to judicial custody and lodged at the Taloja prison in neighbouring Navi Mumbai.

The activist contended the allegations saying he was falsely implicated in the case and had no concern with the alleged offence. His lawyer had argued it was not the case of the prosecution that the applicant was present at the spot on the day of the incident.

There is nothing on record to connect the applicant with a larger conspiracy, the lawyer claimed. He said provisions of the black law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) are not applicable and there is no material in the entire charge sheet to show the activist in any manner intended or supported any act which disrupts the sovereignty or territorial integrity of India.

However, the NIA opposed the application, saying the investigation revealed that the applicant is a member of the Communist Party of India (Maoist). The court said documents alleged to be seized from the possession of the applicant show the nexus of the applicant with the case.

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