The Bombay High Court on Wednesday said prima facie there is nothing against activist Gautam Navlakha, who has been booked for his alleged involvement in the Bhima-Koregaon violence, and extended his protection from arrest till June 18.
A Division Bench of Justices Ranjit More and Bharati Dangre was hearing a plea filed by Mr. Navlakha urging the court to quash the FIR registered against him by the Pune police. The Bench was presented with some letters allegedly sent by senior Maoist leaders to Mr. Navlakha. After perusing the letters, the court said, “There is nothing against him [Navlakha] in any of the letters. Based on the documents submitted to us, prima facie, we are of the opinion that there is nothing against him that supports any of the charges levelled against him.”
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Additional public prosecutor Aruna Kamat Pai submitted to the court in a sealed envelope additional documents allegedly seized from Mr. Navlakha’s laptop. She said the documents cannot be shared with Mr. Navlakha as the probe against him in the case is under way.
The Bench said, “There is nothing secretive in these documents. We are of the prima facie opinion that these documents can be given to him.” Ms. Pai said she would have to take instructions from the investigating officer on whether the documents can be shared with Mr. Navlakha.
Navlakha’s counsel Yug Chaudhary reiterated the credentials of Mr. Navlakha and said he has written books on conflict zones and for esteemed publications on extremists. Mr. Chaudhary said Mr. Navlakha was always chosen by the government and the Maoists as a “mediator”. However, now he is being attacked by both sides as they think he is being biased towards the other.
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He said Mr. Navlakha is a “peace activist” and questioned how he could be charged under provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.