The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the case of Bhima Koregaon, who accused Gautam Navlakha’s plea, to be transferred from prison to house arrest on health grounds, despite objections from the National Investigation Board.
A bench of Justices KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy said the house arrest will initially last a month, after which the court will review it. The bank also imposed strict conditions on him and his partner Sahba Husain, who were allowed to live with him in Mumbai. Terms include restrictions on phone use.
The Supreme Court allowed the NIA to “perform the necessary assessment of the premises” before moving Navlakha. In its order, the authority was free to use appropriate police personnel to monitor and prevent the abuse of house arrest and required the accused to deposit Rs 2.4 lakh for expenses incurred to keep him safe.
The court said Nablakha was not allowed to use the internet, cell phones, laptops, iPads or other communication devices while under house arrest. Once a day he is allowed to use a mobile phone for 10 minutes, which is made available to him by the security staff. He should also not be using any other phone, including his companion’s phone, which should be a basic phone with no internet connection.
The court said the NIA was free to monitor the companion’s phone and record calls and could not delete details of calls or messages from her phone.
Although senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, acting for Navlakha, said Delhi was convenient as he had a house there, the court said he was not allowed to leave Mumbai or Navi Mumbai.
He can meet with two family members for three hours a week, details of which should be shared with the NIA. No electronic devices like phones, iPads and laptops are allowed in the house, even if the visitors call him.
Although the authority insisted that CCTV cameras be installed in the rooms, the court ordered that they should be installed at the entrance and outside of each room. The bank said the cameras should be in working order at all times and should never be disabled. The entire cost of maintaining them would be borne by Navlakha.