The Bombay High Court has granted bail to activist Gautam Navlakha in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case. A division bench headed by Justice A S Gadkari allowed Navlakha’s plea seeking bail. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) requested the court to stay the operation of the order so that it could file an appeal in the Supreme Court, to which the bench responded by staying the order for three weeks. Navlakha, who has been under house arrest since November last year, was granted bail on a surety of Rs 1 lakh.

This is Navlakha’s second appeal in the high court seeking regular bail. He had earlier moved the high court after the NIA court rejected his regular bail plea in September last year. The NIA had opposed Navlakha’s bail plea, stating that he had been introduced to a Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) General for recruitment, showing his nexus with the organisation.

The high court ruled that the reasoning in the special court’s order was cryptic and did not contain an analysis of the evidence relied upon by the prosecution. The court directed the special judge to conclude the hearing within four weeks, leading Navlakha to move the special court for re-hearing his case for regular bail. However, the special court rejected the plea, prompting the present appeal.

The case revolves around alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which allegedly triggered violence near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial. As many as 16 activists have been arrested in the case, with five currently out on bail. Navlakha is the seventh accused to be granted bail in this case.