Navlakha protection extended till October 15

NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday extended interim protection against arrest to civil rights activist Gautam Navlakha until October 15 in a case related to the January 1, 2018, caste clashes at Bhima Koregaon in Maharashtra’s Pune district, and asked the state government “not to trouble him” in the meantime.

A bench comprising justices Arun Mishra and Deepak Gupta delivered the order on the day the interim protection against arrest given to Navlakha by the Bombay high court was set to lapse. The bench also asked the Maharashtra government to produce before it material collected against Navlakha. The ruling came after five judges recused themselves from hearing Navlakha’s appeal in the past five days.

On Thursday, Justice S Ravindra Bhat became the fifth after Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, and justices NV Ramana, Subhash Reddy and BR Gavai had declined to be part of the bench hearing the matter.

In its order, the bench said: “Certain material which was produced before the high court, in a sealed cover, is not available today. The learned counsel appearing for the State of Maharashtra has prayed for time to produce the material. In the meantime, interim protection granted by the high court shall continue.”

The bench fixed the case for further hearing on October 15.

On September 13, the Bombay high court dismissed Navlakha’s petition to quash a first information report (FIR) registered against him by Pune police over the Bhima Koregaon violence that broke out on the 200th anniversary of a British-era war, leaving one person dead and 40 more injured. Pune police, in the FIR, slapped charges against Navlakha under the Unlawful Prevention Activities Act (UAPA) for allegedly having links to Maoists.