Gautam Navlakha, who is under house arrest in connection with a case relating to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune in 2017, has requested a change of address from the public library where he is currently residing. Navlakha’s counsel argued that the library needs to be vacated and requested an urgent hearing. The Additional Solicitor General sought time to respond to the application. The bench, comprising of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna, has scheduled the matter for hearing next Friday. Navlakha was granted house arrest last year owing to his deteriorating health, and has been in custody since April 2020. Noting the activist has been in custody since April 14, 2020, and prima facie there is no reason to reject his medical report, it had said Navlakha does not have any criminal background except this case and even the Government of India had appointed him as interlocutor to hold talks with Maoists.
According to the Supreme Court’s order, Navlakha has been in custody since April 14, 2020, in connection with the Elgar Parishad case, in which he is accused of making inflammatory speeches. The court had noted that prima facie there is no reason to reject his medical report and that Navlakha has no criminal background except in this case. The court had also highlighted that the Indian government had appointed Navlakha as an interlocutor to hold talks with Maoists.
