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Synopsis

Relying on a circular issued by the Inspector General of Maharashtra Police, the state prison authority informed the Bombay High Court that Gautam Navlakha, accused under UAPA in Elgar Parishad Case, cannot avail telephonic facility in prison.

Navlakha filed a plea before the high court challenging the order of the NIA special court, which had rejected his application for telephonic communications that were stopped in December 2021, when the physical meetings started, after being provided for two long years during COVID-19.it was an appeal against the special NIA court order refusing telephonic communication to Navlakha

Advocate Yug Mohit Chaudhari on behalf of Navlakha contended that Navlakha’s partner, being a senior citizen, could not travel from Delhi for frequent physical visits and denying phone calls is in violation of the fundamental right to life with dignity.

However, authorities submitted that since undertrials and convicts who are in prison for offences like sedition, terrorism under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act(UAPA) or for heinous crimes, cannot avail telephonic facilities in jail, they cannot permit Navlakha to make phone calls from prison.

Moreover, Maharashtra authorities' circular denies phone call facilities to those facing charges of terrorism or conspiring against the nation. Prison authorities may allow such a facility under exceptional circumstances only subject to satisfaction about the same.

The state prison authority said that Navlakha is permitted to have physical meetings with his lawyers and his kin or write letters to them.

The division bench of Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Arun Pednekar, considering the nature of Navlakha's plea as an appeal from lower court, refused to treat it as a writ petition for deciding the constitutionality of the circular and said that it would decide on the NIA special court order itself.

The High court will hear the matter further on August 2.

[Inputs: Indian Express]