Special NIA court rejects bail plea of activist Gautam Navlakha in Elgar Parishad case

A special NIA court rejected the bail plea of activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case. Last month, the Bombay High Court had quashed the earlier order passed by the special judge and directed him to rehear Navlakha's bail plea.

HC had said the special court's order did not contain an analysis of the evidence relied upon by the prosecution. On Thursday, Special Judge Rajesh Katariya denied Navlakha bail after hearing the submissions afresh.

Navlakha was arrested in August 2018 and was moved to Taloja Jail near Mumbai in April 2020 after initial period of house arrest. On November 10 last year, the Supreme Court allowed his plea to be shifted back to house arrest for a month. Navlakha is at present residing in Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra's Thane district.

The case in which he has been arrested relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017.