‘M’ To The Rescue Of ‘N’: Gautam Navlakha

Actor Suhasini Mulay has offered to act as a surety for activist Gautam Navlakha’s house arrest. Navlakha has been imprisoned since April 2020 on suspicion of having connections to the Maoist movement.

Considering  Mr. Navlakha’s assertions that he has a number of medical issues, the Supreme Court decided last Monday that he be placed under home arrest for one month.

He hasn’t been released yet yet since the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) special court hasn’t issued the release order due to Mr. Navlakha’s security.

Today Ms. Mulay appeared in front of the NIA court and offered to act as a surety for Mr. Navlakha’s home imprisonment. She claimed to have known Mr. Navlakha for 30 years, and the two of them had previously resided in Delhi. The term “surety” refers to a legal promise that a person who is about to be released from custody will show up in court whenever required.

The Supreme Court had ordered that Mr. Navlakha be released by the authorities within 48 hours. But because the procedures weren’t finished, the release was postponed.

The NIA court was informed by the investigators’ attorneys that Mr. Navlakha would be detained in an unsafe home.

Lawyers for the imprisoned activist, however, said that the probe is being dragged out. The Supreme Court will probably be contacted once more by his attorneys.

According to the report, the NIA court judge stated in his order that it would not be appropriate to place the accused under house arrest because the prosecution (NIA) has a strong objection to keeping the accused on the premises for reasons of safety and security.

The prosecution has stated that it will file a report with the Supreme Court after evaluating the property where Mr. Navlakha would reside, so the court determined that it would not be appropriate to place him under house arrest.

The residence Navlakha picked was not a “secure spot,” according to the investigators, as it had three entrance points and exits and no CCTV cameras were put in the building’s back. They said that one of the requirements specified by the Supreme Court was the installation of CCTV cameras at the entry and departure points.

According to the NIA, a “secretary of the Communist Party” who has been the building’s management for 25 to 30 years is the owner of the structure.

The NIA stated that it will be “extremely difficult to keep surveillance on the accused” since there is a public library on the ground level.

The case will resume in the NIA court on November 25.