Read Time: 05 minutes
"1 crore 64 lakhs is due for the security provided by us during house arrest..ask them to pay..large number of police persons are there round the clock..", Court was told today
The Supreme Court on Tuesday told Gautam Navlakha that he should pay ₹ 1.64 crore to National Investigation Agency (NIA) due towards expenses for the security provided to him during his house arrest.
"Then you should pay this because you asked for house arrest..", a bench of Justices MM Sundresh and SVN Bhatti said after it was informed that the plea was house arrest was made by Navlakha on grounds of health issues.
When Advocate Shadan Farasat appearing for Navlakha asked latest calculation of the dues payable, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju told the bench that Navlakha was trying to avoid payment.
Asking Navlakha to submit his objections, the bench ordered to take up the case on April 23 when it would hear the issue and decide it.
On the last date, ASG Raju had told the bench that the 70-year-old, arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, had only paid ₹ 10 lakh till now as part of expenses incurred for his security.
Senior Advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, appearing for Navlakha, objected to the agency's calculation of the amount payable and called the demand to be "extortion".
In December last year, the Bombay High Court had granted bail to the Bhima Koregaon accused but had stayed the order on the NIA's request to file an appeal before the Supreme Court.
This stay order has been extended by the top court till now.
Way before Navlakha was granted bail by the High Court, while hearing his application seeking to changes his address for house arrest, the Supreme Court had expressed its concerns over its original order granting him house arrest in the first place.
Court had then remarked that the order had not in fact did dealt with the merits of the overall case and proceedings against Navlakha.
Navlakha, who is accused of having Maoist links was allowed to be shifted from Taloja Central Prison due to medical ailments. He was arrested by Pune police from Delhi on August 28, 2018 in connection with the Elgar Parishad case. He was initially kept under house arrest but subsequently sent to judicial custody in Taloja Central Prison in April 2020 after a Supreme Court order.
Case Title: National Investigation Agency vs. Gautam Navlakha
Please Login or Register
