A bench of judges KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy asked the NIA, which is the prosecution agency and opposed Navlakha’s request for house arrest, on Thursday to specify the conditions that could be imposed on social networks activist if your request to get out of prison is allowed to do so guarantee which does not abuse its “measured freedom”.
Pressuring the activist’s request, senior lawyer Kapil Sibal told the bench that he suffered from various ailments and that his medical condition needed to be monitored, which was not possible inside the prison. Reading the medical report presented by Jaslok hospital, he said his blood pressure had to be checked twice a day and his sodium level as well.
Additional Attorney General SV Raju, who filed for the NIA, said there was no need to allow him to get out of prison and assured the court that he will be provided with all medical facilities inside the prison and will be taken to any hospital of your choice if necessary. The ASG said according to the medical report there is nothing wrong with him and he would be provided with mattresses and cots as suggested by the doctors and even homemade food.
Opposing Raju’s submission, Sibal said there was nothing wrong with Stan Swamy as well, but he died in custody.
As the court suggested that the ASG consider the defendant’s petition in light of his 70-year old age, Raju stiffly objected and argued that this would set a wrong precedent and that it would also be difficult to monitor his activities at the House arrest. He said Navlakha was in contact with the terrorist organization ISIS and Kashmiri extremists as well as engaging in Maoist activities.
The counter then inquired about the evidence gathered by the agency showing its links to terrorist and banned organizations and the agency then replied that it had found a letter written to it by Sudarshan who heads the (Maoist) ICC. Raju further claimed that Navlakha had gone to the United States three times at the invitation of a man who was prosecuted for having ties to ISIS.
Not satisfied with the evidence as pointed out by the ASG, the bench said: “This is the material … You are saying that one person had a connection with ISIS and went three times to the United States to give conferences organized by that. man, but how he is linked to ISIS. He is saying that this may be the basis of his belief, “said the bench.
The court told Raju that being in the same age group, he was “ideal” to understand the medical problem faced by the defendant and said, “He is a 70-year-old man. Nobody knows how long a person can live in this world. It is going towards the inevitable. We will subject it to any restrictions you suggest.
Sibal said Navlakha was a researcher and the Center even appointed him in 2005 as an interlocutor to hold talks with the Maoists and secured the release of the people they kidnapped. “I’ve dealt with Maoists but I’m not a Maoist,” he said.
The court then postponed the hearing to Thursday and asked Raju to take instructions and inform the court on the conditions to be imposed on Navlakha if the court agreed to accept his request for house arrest.
The court in August also raised the issue of the trial not moving and ordered the court to decide on the framing of the charges within three months as the defendant was behind bars for more than three years. Noting the NIA’s objection that there are four defendants who have yet to be arrested in the case, the court had asked the agency to take steps to separate the trial of 15 arrested defendants from the others by filing an appropriate petition before the court of first instance. and also declare the other four accused criminals.
