The Supreme Court said on Monday that it would hear the petition of activist Gautam Navlakha on March 22. Gautam Navlakha has challenged the Bombay High Court’s order in the Supreme Court, denying Gautam Navlakha a default bail while giving him a 34-day period of his house arrest in 2018. A division bench of Justice UU Lalit and Justice KM Joseph on Monday adjourned the hearing for filing a counter-affidavit on Navlakha’s plea at the request of the National Investigation Agency.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Navlakha, said that a counter-affidavit may not be necessary as the matter involves only a question of law. However, the bench accepted the request by Additional Additional General SV Raju to grant time for filing counter-affidavit.
On 8 February, the Bombay High Court held that Navlakha’s 34-day house arrest could not be included in the computation of the filing of the charge sheet for the purposes of defaulting bail. The High Court noted that the period of house arrest was unlawful detention by the Delhi High Court due to violation of the mandatory conditions for arrest and remand.
