The Bombay High Court dismissed 2018 Elgar Parishad accused Gautam Navlakha’s plea for a transfer from Taloja prison to house arrest on Tuesday. Earlier last month, the bench of Justices SB Shukre and GA Sanap reserved their decision. The bench granted Navlakha the right to bring his grievances to the attention of the Special Judge under the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and the said judge was told to ensure that the grievances were resolved within the confines of the law.
The Taloja superintendent was also ordered to look after Navlakha’s medical needs. Navlakha was arrested in August 2018 as a human rights activist and former secretary of the People’s Union for Democratic Rights. Initially, he was placed under house arrest. Following a Supreme Court order, he was moved to Taloja prison in Maharashtra in April 2020.
Navlakha moved the high court, citing the Supreme Court’s decision in his own default bail case, to claim that he was being denied basic medical care and other necessities in prison and was suffering great hardships at his advanced age.
Navlakha’s lawyer, Yug Mohit Chaudhry, argued that the activist was denied spectacles despite losing them in prison and was only provided one after the problem was brought to the attention of the media.
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