MUMBAI: Bombay high court on Friday issued notice and adjourned to September 15, a petition filed by activist Gautam Navlakha an accused in the Elgar Parishad case for default bail for being in custody for over 90 days with no chargesheet filed.
He has challenged a July 12 order of the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court which had refused him bail.
A special NIA court Judge Dinesh Kothalikar had, after hearing Navlakha’s lawyer Ragini Ahuja and additional solicitor general Anil Singh for NIA, said the period of his house arrest cannot be factored in.
Navlakha was arrested on August 28 2018 and immediately after transit remand was granted, had approached the Delhi high court.
The Delhi HC directed that he be placed back to where he was picked up from, with two local police outside his house.
The special court order said noting that on October 1,2018, Delhi HC had quashed his arrest, adding that Navlakha had later sought pre-arrest bail, hence his “house arrest’’ cannot be counted as detention following an arrest under law under section 167 of criminal procedure code.
Navlakha finally surrendered in Delhi on April 14, 2020 and on April 15 was remanded by special NIA court there to custody.
His petition says that as on June 11, he has completed 93 days in custody cumulatively and since a 90 day period for filing chargesheet in the case has elapsed, he has a right to be granted default bail. He has questioned the validity of the reasons given by the NIA judge in rejecting his plea.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/bombay-hc-to-hear-navlakhas-default-bail-plea-on-sept-15/articleshow/77934215.cms
