HC seeks NIA's reply on Navlakha's interim bail plea on medical grounds

May 22, 2020 16:28

The Delhi High Court Friday sought NIA's response on a plea by civil rights activist Gautam Navlakha seeking interim bail in the Bhima Koregaon violence case on the ground that due to his advanced age, he was vulnerable of catching virus in prison during the COVID-19 pandemic. Justice Anup J Bhambhani, who conducted the hearing through video conferencing, issued notice to the NIA on the plea and asked the agency to file its response and listed the matter for further hearing on May 27. Navlakha had surrendered before the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on April 14 in pursuance to the Supreme Court's direction.

He is presently lodged in Tihar jail. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the NIA, opposed the plea saying the grounds in the interim bail were rejected by the Supreme Court when Navlakh had sought extension of his protection from arrest on grounds of ongoing pandemic.

Navlakha, 67, said he is lodged in Tihar jail during a period where the entire nation is gripped with the threat of contracting the highly contagious and deadly COVID-19 virus. The plea said given his advanced age, he is vulnerable to catching any infections/virus, especially in a crowded environment like prison. -- PTI

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

'Not the pitch you play a World Cup semi-final on'

Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott lambasted the pitch that was used for their T20 World Cup semi-final against South Africa in Trinidad.

Recipe: Sahana's Sajjige Roti

Bored of rava upma? Try this savoury pancake recipe.

Kalki 2898 AD Review: The Force Is Strong

Prabhas may be the face of Kalki 2898 AD's heroics but the real bang for your buck is delivered in Amitabh Bachchan's indefatigable energy providing Kalki's biggest wolf-whistle moments, applauds Sukanya Verma.

Prez mentions NEET row, Emergency, CAA in address to Parliament

The President congratulated the people of Jammu and Kashmir for the high voter turnout recorded in the union territory in the recent Lok Sabha elections and lauded the Election Commission for holding the world's biggest democratic...

Smooth ride for tyre exporter Balkrishna Industries as peers struggle

Larger listed domestic-focused tyre companies have underperformed the benchmarks in the last three months but exporter Balkrishna Industries has bucked the trend. The company, which exports off-highway tyres, has generated 43 per cent...