Gautam Navlakha's release stalled over 'safety concerns' raised by NIA; actor Suhasini Mulay stands as his surety

Veteran actor Suhasini Mulay appeared before the special NIA judge Rajesh Katariya and stood as surety for Navlakha which the court accepted

The release of activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoists links case, was delayed yet again on Wednesday as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raised safety concerns about the premises in Navi Mumbai where he had proposed to live during his house arrest.

Veteran actor Suhasini Mulay appeared before the special NIA judge Rajesh Katariya during the day and stood as surety for Navlakha which the court accepted.

Navlakha's lawyers, advocates Yug Chaudhry, Wahab Khan and Chandni Chawla, were likely to move the Supreme Court after Wednesday's ruling of the special NIA court, sources said.

"Since there is strong objection on the part of the prosecution (NIA) for keeping the accused in the premises on account of safety and security of the accused, it would not be proper to keep the accused under house arrest in the given premises," the judge said in his order.

Further, as the special public prosecutor also submitted that the prosecution was going to file a report of the evaluation of the premises in the Supreme Court, it would not be appropriate to shift the accused there until further directions from the Apex court, the court added.

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The 70-year-old Navlakha, who claims to be suffering from multiple ailments, is in prison since April 2020. On November 10, in response to his petition, the Supreme Court allowed Navlakha to be put under house arrest for a month and said the order should be implemented within 48 hours.