Bhima Koregaon Case: Supreme Court Grants Bail to Activist Gautam Navlakha

Activist Gautam Navlakha was granted bail in the Bhima-Koregaon violence case of 2018 by the Supreme Court on Tuesday. Despite the Bombay High Court's stay on the bail, the Supreme Court bench of Justices M M Sundresh and S V N Bhatti declined to extend it.

Additionally, the Supreme Court directed Navlakha to pay Rs 20 lakh for security expenses during his house arrest. "We are inclined to not extend the stay as high court order is detailed in granting bail. Trial would take years and years and years for completion. Without going at length into contentions, we will not extend the stay. A sum of Rs 20 lakh to be paid to the opposite party as earliest," the bench said.

The Supreme Court observed that Gautam Navlakha has been in custody for over four years, with charges yet to be framed in the case. The Bombay High Court had granted him bail on December 19 last year, but delayed its implementation for three weeks after the NIA requested time to appeal to the top court. Navlakha, arrested in August 2018, was allowed by the Supreme Court in November last year to be placed under house arrest. He is currently residing in Navi Mumbai.

The case revolves around purportedly provocative speeches delivered during the Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune on December 31, 2017. Authorities allege that these speeches incited violence near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of Pune the following day. Sixteen activists have been arrested in connection with the case, with five of them currently released on bail.