You asked for house arrest, so pay for security: SC to Navlakha

Activist’s counsel says issue in calculation of `1.64 cr dues, court gives a week

THE SUPREME Court on Tuesday said activist Gautam Navlakha cannot escape the liability of paying towards expenses for the Maharashtra government making available police personnel for his security during his house arrest, as he himself had requested the house arrest.

The case relates to speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune in December 2017, which police claim triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) told a bench of justices M M Sundresh and S V N Bhatti that Navlakha, arrested in the Elgar Parishad-maoist links case, is required to make a payment of `1.64 crore towards expenses for security.

“If you have sought for it, you have to pay,” the bench told the counsel representing Navlakha. “The liability you can’t escape because you asked for it (house arrest),” the apex court observed.

Under house arrest at a library since Nov 2022

On November 10, 2022, the top court had allowed Navlakha — who was then lodged in Navi Mumbai's Taloja prison — to be placed under house arrest owing to his deteriorating health. Navlakha has been under house arrest at a public library in Mumbai since then.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S V Raju, representing the NIA, said `1.64 crore is due and 70-year-old Navlakha has to make the payment for the security provided during his house arrest. Terming the order of house arrest as “unusual”, Raju said a large number of police personnel have been deployed round-the-clock during his house arrest.

The counsel representing Navlakha said there is no difficulty in paying per se but the issue was with respect to the calculation of the amount.

The ASG said Navlakha had earlier made payments of over `10 lakh for this and now he is avoiding making payment.

“There is no question of avoiding,” Navlakha's counsel said. His counsel said the NIA'S plea, challenging the December 19, 2023 order of the Bombay High Court which had granted bail to Navlakha, was also required to be heard.

The high court had granted him bail but stayed its order for three weeks after the NIA had sought time to file an appeal in the top court. On January 5, the apex court had extended the stay imposed by the high court on the operation of its order granting bail to Navlakha.

During the hearing on Tuesdaybeforetheapexcourt,the Asgsaidearlier,navlakhahimself had asked for house arrest and whetherthebailisallowedornot, he has to make the payment for the expenses incurred for roundthe-clock security.

"The issue of bail is slightly different. He had first said 'put me in house arrest because I am not well'. Now he is hale and hearty, everything is okay," he said. "We had said if he will be put in house arrest at a place where he wanted to be lodged, then it require police personnel round-the-clock… He said 'I will pay the cost’,” Raju said.

“As long as you continue to havethisfacility,thefiguresaregoing to fly higher and higher. What wearetodaythinkingis,insteadof allowing it to touch the highest level,wewillgiveoneweektime,” thebenchtoldnavlakha’scounsel. It said Navlakha’s counsel can see the calculation and tell the court about it.

The bench, which said the interim stay granted on January 5 shall continue, posted the matter for hearing on April 23.

On March 7, Navlakha's lawyer had disputed the figure in the apex court and accused the agency of "extortion".

Raju had strongly objected to the use of the term "extortion".

While ordering his house arrest on November 10, 2022, the apex court had directed Navlakha to deposit `2.4 lakh towards the expenses to be borne by the state for deploying police personnel to effectively place him under house arrest.

Later, it had again directed Navlakha to deposit another `8 lakh as expenses for providing police personnel for his security.