Elgaar Parishad case: NIA objects to premises for Gautam Navlakha house arrest

Navlakha’s lawyers are likely to approach the Supreme Court on Thursday. Special judge Rajesh Katariya said in his order on Wednesday evening, “…the learned special public prosecutor submitted that the prosecution is going to file report of the evaluation of the premises before the Honourable Apex Court, it would not be appropriate to shift the accused in the given premises at this stage until further necessary directions of the Honourable Apex Court in view of serious objections on the part of the prosecution.”

On November 10, the Supreme Court had said that after evaluation by the NIA within 48 hours of its order and subject to conditions set by it, Navlakha can be placed under house arrest for a month. The court was told by his lawyers that a place had been identified in Navi Mumbai.

Navlakha’s lawyers Yug Mohit Chaudhry and Wahab Khan told the Mumbai special court on Wednesday that there was an “inexorable delay” in implementing the SC order and that the NIA was “dragging its feet” in submitting the evaluation report and conducting verification of the surety.

The NIA, through Special Public Prosecutor Prakash Shetty, submitted the evaluation report before the Mumbai court after its officer inspected the premises. The report said that Navlakha — currently lodged at Taloja Central Jail — would be put under house arrest on the first floor of a building that has a public library on the ground floor. It added that since the library can be accessed to all, it is “not safe from the view of safety and security” of Navlakha and that it would be difficult to keep vigil on him. The NIA also claimed that while the first floor premises have two entry and exit points, CCTV camera was installed at only one place, thereby, not fulfilling the conditions set by the SC. Shetty further said that the building was in the name of a secretary of the CPI(M), with “comrades” in charge of it.

When asked by the judge if the NIA had any objection to the premises, Shetty said he was only placing facts before it. He said that the objection was on the ground of safety.

Chaudhry told the court that they were ready to install CCTV cameras “wherever the NIA wanted, at whichever angles they wanted”. He added that Navlakha and his companion would be restricted to the first floor and would have no access to the ground floor library or the open terrace.

He added that the SC’s conditions were complied with and Navlakha should be released without any further delay. “You cannot go on and on about ‘comrades’ owning the premises. The CPI(M) is a registered political party,” Chaudhry said.

Meanwhile, actor Suhasini Mulay appeared before the Mumbai court as Navlakha’s surety on Wednesday. Mulay told the court that she had known Navlakha for over 30 years since he was a resident of Delhi. The court accepted her as surety for Navlakha.