SC frowns over HC entertaining Navlakha’s bail plea
New Delhi, Jun 19: The Supreme Court on Friday expressed unhappiness and questioned the Delhi High Court’s decision to entertain the bail plea of civil rights activist Gautam Navlakha, when it had already dismissed his petition for similar relief and asked him to surrender within a specific date.
Navlakha was arrested in August 2018 by the Pune Police from his Delhi residence in connection with the violence at Koregaon Bhima village in Pune district on January 1, 2018.
The transit remand order was, however, set aside by the Delhi High Court.
A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and S Abdul Nazeer said that interim orders granted by the top court on June 2 will continue in the case.
The apex court had stayed the May 27 order of the
High Court by which the NIA was pulled up for acting in haste in taking away Navlakha from Tihar Jail to Mumbai.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Aman Lekhi, appearing for National Investigation Agency (NIA) said that Delhi High Court had no territorial jurisdiction to call for records from the lower courts.
The bench said: “When we had dismissed his bail plea on similar grounds and asked him to surrender then what is the right of Delhi High Court to entertain his bail petition.” Lekhi said that NIA had not acted in haste in moving Navlakha to Mumbai as a production warrant was issued by the trial court.
He said that in compliance to top court’s order of April 8, Navlakha had surrendered on April 14 in Delhi but could not be moved from Mumbai due to lockdown.
Advocate Shadan Farasat, appearing Navlakha said that he does not have the copy of NIA’s petition and could file reply after getting the copy.
The bench then ordered that the copy of petition be served upon Navlakha and posted the matter for further hearing in the month of July.
It said all interim orders will continue till further orders.
On June 2, the top court had stayed the proceedings before the Delhi High Court till further orders and issued notice to Navlakha on NIA’s appeal.
The NIA in its plea alleged that the high court in its order erroneously continues to entertain the interim bail application of an accused, who is charged by an authority outside its territorial jurisdiction and is in judicial custody vide a valid remand order passed by special judge (NIA) Mumbai.