New Delhi, March 7 -- A dispute arose between activist Gautam Navlakha and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday regarding the cost of his house arrest security.
NIA claimed in Supreme Court that Navlakha owes Rs 1.64 crore for police personnel deployed during his house arrest, while Navlakha's lawyer contested the amount, calling it "extortion" and arguing it violates relevant regulations.
Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the NIA, told a bench of justices M M Sundresh and SVN Bhatti that 70-year-old Navlakha, arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, has only paid an amount of Rs 10 lakh till now as part of expenses incurred for round-the-clock security. Navlakha's lawyer, Senior Advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, argued that the amount was calculated incorrectly and opposed the demand for such a substantial sum.
Raju objected to the accusation of "extortion," prompting the court to schedule a detailed hearing in April while maintaining the Bombay High Court's stay on Navlakha's bail order.
Navlakha is under house arrest at a public library in Mumbai since November 2022 due to health concerns. Initially ordered to pay Rs 2.4 lakh for security expenses, this amount was later increased to Rs 8 lakh. The case relates to alleged provocative speeches at the Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune, resulting in violence near Koregaon-Bhima war memorial.
Sixteen activists, including Navlakha, were arrested in connection with the case, with five currently out on bail.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.