Not giving Wodehouse book comical: HC
The Bombay High Court was not amused to know that the Taloja prison officials had refused to allow a book by noted English author and humourist PG Wodehouse to Gautam Navlakha, arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, citing “security risk”. A division bench of Justices SB Shukre and GA Sanap termed the refusal as "comical" while hearing a petition by Navlakha, who is in judicial custody, seeking to be kept under house arrest due to his advanced age and the many ailments that he suffers from.
During the hearing on Monday, Navlakha's counsel Yug Chaudhry highlighted the poor conditions of the Taloja prison and said even basic requirements are not being provided to Navlakha. “He (Navlakha) was refused a chair despite suffering from excruciating pain. Earlier, his spectacles were stolen and the jail refused to accept a fresh pair of spectacles sent to him by his family,” said Chaudhry. “Books are being refused,”
Chaudhry added, “A book by PG Wodehouse, a humour book, was sent by his family and the jail authorities refused to hand it to him saying it was a security risk twice.”
The court questioned the NIA counsel, Sandesh Patil. “Is this true? Wodehouse is considered a security threat? This is really comical. Wodehouse was a source of inspiration for Marathi writer and humourist PL Deshpande,” said Justice Shukre. Expressing displeasure over the attitude of the jail authorities, the HC said that it was the NIA's duty to ensure basic needs were provided to the arrested accused. “This shows the attitude of the jail authorities. It is the job of the NIA, as prosecuting
agency, to ensure that the arrested person's life is made comfortable in jail. At least basic needs should be met,” Justice Shukre said.
Chaudhry further argued that Navlakha was 70 years old and no-one would benefit if he was kept in jail. The charges are yet to be framed and even if the trial begins it will take years for it to conclude. “Why should he be kept in jail
until then with no basic facilities?” asked Chaudhry. He further told the court that a co-accused, Father Stan Swamy, died while in custody. “Another accused in the case, Varavara Rao, fortunately got medical bail from the HC, else he too would have met the same fate as Swamy. Navlakha does not want
to suffer the same fate as Swamy. He wants to live till he clears his name in this case,” argued Chaudhry.
The judges remarked that Navlakha's request for house arrest seemed justified, but the state government was not bothered as it had failed to specifically deal with these allegations. On August 28, 2018, Navlakha was arrested by the Pune Police in Delhi. He was initially kept under house arrest and subsequently sent in judicial custody. The case was later handed over to the NIA. The HC has kept the petition for further hearing on Tuesday.