‘I have empirical basis… I stand by what I’ve written, I’ve no regrets’: Gautam Navlakha

The Bhima Koregaon case, investigated by the Pune police first and now with the National Investigation Agency, concerns an alleged conspiracy to cause caste violence and overthrow the government. The accused – activists and lawyers – are known collectively as the “BK-16” and, as per Navlakha, are a close-knit group.

At the same time, Navlakha says, he is conscious that the camaraderie is only part of what changed in the six years. “Just a conversation can turn into a conspiracy now,” he notes, going on to talk about the prolonged incarceration of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, and how it leaves him “very outraged and sad”.

The two have been in jail for close to six years in the Delhi riots conspiracy case, charged under the stringent UAPA. The trial is yet to start, and several other co-accused recently got out on bail.

“To put any person behind bars without a free and fair trial and to keep them there for years together… I find it an abomination… It ought to be unacceptable in any civilised society,” Navlakha says, pointing to the fundamental principle in law of “presumption of innocence”.

In his own case, the FIR was filed in 2018, and the chargesheet in 2020, with the formal framing of charges by the court – for the trial to start – yet to happen. One reason for the delay is the sheer volume of paperwork – the chargesheet runs into approximately 22,000 pages, with over 300 witnesses listed.

Asked when he expects the trial to begin, Navlakha says: “I have no idea. You have to ask the NIA. I don’t know how they will explain the delay.”

The years in custody exacted a physical toll on most of them, Navlakha says – Father Stan Swamy, who died in custody; Hany Babu, who nearly lost an eye to infection; and the octogenarian poet P Varavara Rao, who contracted Covid and suffered head injuries due to a fall. Navlakha says he has developed high blood pressure and is on daily medication.

The worst parts of the prison were the inadequate medical facilities and “the poor nutritional quality” of the prison food, he adds.

The sole prisoner allowed morning walk in the high-security Anda Cell at Taloja Central Jail in Mumbai, following a court order, Navlakha recalls how he would see the garbage truck drive in every morning and carry away trash, more than 60% of which was discarded food.

He says that this is one reason for the “insidious” economic model within prisons, with inmates purchasing basics like eggs from the jail canteen to meet their needs. “Those who can’t afford to buy extra food have to provide services to well-off prisoners,” Navlakha says, calling the existence of such a system in a State-run facility “disturbing”.

However, Navlakha says, he holds no regrets, including over his writings and work involving the Maoist movement and Kashmir, which is believed to have invited State scrutiny. “I stand by what I have written… to the best of my ability and as truthfully and honestly as I can. It’s not as if I am just giving an opinion; I am providing the empirical basis for the opinion that I hold. So, I have no regrets.”

But he doesn’t expect the return to writing to be easy, or soon. His immediate focus is settling into home and managing his health. “Ecstatic” about being back in Delhi, a city he loves, Navlakha says: “My journey begins now. Let’s see how it goes.”