No bail for Navlakha, house arrest is an option: Supreme Court
Deccan ChronicleNew Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday rejected a plea for default bail by human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, one of the accused in the January 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence case, over his alleged links with Maoists. However, when the issue has come into focus, and noticing its ingredients we have formed the view that it involves custody which falls under Section 167.” Justice Joseph said: “We observe that under Section 167 in appropriate cases it will be open to the courts to order house arrest.” Indicating the criteria, which it said was not exhaustive, Justice Joseph said an accused could be sent to house arrest given factors like “age, health condition and the antecedents of the accused, the nature of the crime, the need for other forms of custody and the ability to enforce the terms of the house arrest”. Having shown the new course for the subordinate judiciary to follow by sending an accused to house arrest, in the case of Mr Navlakha, the court rejected his contention that he was entitled to default bail as the National Investigating Agency did not file the chargesheet within the statutory 90 days from the date of his arrest. Mr Navlakha was put under house arrest by the Delhi high court while hearing his challenge to the transit custody granted by a Delhi court to the Mumbai police. Holding that his house arrest wasn’t under Section 167 CrPC, the Supreme Court in its 206-page ruling upheld the Bombay high court’s ruling that the law requiring the NIA to file the chargesheet against an accused within 90 days of arrest was not flouted.