Bhima-koregaon: Interim protection extended for accused

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court (HC) on Monday extended the interim protection granted to human-rights activist Gautam Navlakha in the Bhima-koregaon case until February 18, stating “it is only proper to allow proceedings in the apex court to be completed before deciding on his petition seeking quashing of the FIR”.

The state has filed a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court, challenging the Delhi high court’s order allowing Navlakha to be released from house arrest. The hearing is scheduled on February 8.

The SLP had been filed by the state soon after Navlakha had secured a release from house arrest from Delhi HC on October 1 last year.

Navlakha was among five rights activists who were kept under house arrest following a transit remand order passed in favour of Maharashtra police by the chief metropolitan magistrate (CMM), south-east district, Saket on August 29, 2018.

The division bench of justices BP Dharmadhikari and Revati Mohite Dere, while hearing Navlakha’s plea to quash the FIR owing to lack of evidence of his role in the Bhima-koregaon violence, was informed by the state through additional public prosecutor Aruna Pai that the matter in the apex court was distinct from the one in HC.

“I did not have the copy of the SLP during the previous hearing. After perusing the SLP it is clear that both issues are distinct,” submitted Pai.

The grounds for setting aside the CMM order according to Delhi HC was that proper procedure for issuing the transit remand order was not followed apart from other sections of the Criminal Procedure Code (CRPC).

On Monday, Pai said the issue being dealt with in the SLP and the current petition was distinct and hence the interim protection granted by the HC to Navlakha should be vacated. However, the bench was not influenced by the argument and said that as the SLP was to come up for hearing on February 8, it would decide on Navlakha’s plea only after that and posted the matter for hearing on February 18.