The advocate appearing for writer Gautam Navlakha told the Bombay High Court on Friday that the letters relied upon by the prosecution do not make a case of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). While arguing for the anticipatory bail plea for Mr. Navlakha, 67, before Justice P.D. Naik, Advocate Yug Chaudhry said at best the letters show his client’s acquaintance with those living in Kashmir, areas under Maoist control and the north east for two of his books Days and Nights in the Heartland of Rebellion and War and Politics .
Mr. Navlakha has been charged with UAPA and the Indian Penal Code for his alleged role in the Elgaar Parishad a day before the Bhima Koregaon violence in January 2018 in Pune.
Mr. Chaudhry told the court that the letters relied upon by the Pune Police to implicate Mr. Navlakha do not make a case of terror or unlawful activity.
Mr. Navlakha’s plea highlights that in 2011, the Indian government had appointed him as one of the interlocutors (along with other activists like Swami Agnivesh, Kavita Shrivastava, V. Suresh and Harish Dhawan) to negotiate with the Naxalites for the release of five abducted policemen. It is mentioned that Mr. Navlakha’s name was added to the FIR, six months after it was registered as there was no evidence against him even after scrutinising the seized material.
The Bench will now hear arguments on Prof. Anand Teltumbde’s anticipatory bail, another accused in the case, on December 9.
