Others still languish in life of uncertainty, says activist Gautam Navlakha on release from custody
The human rights activist was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the Bhima Koregaon case on May 14.
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Human rights activist Gautam Navlakha on Sunday said that while he had been released from custody in the Bhima Koregaon case, he is saddened that the fate of several fellow dissidents implicated in other cases still hangs in balance.
“Years of our life have been snatched from us as prisoners awaiting trial, which itself will take years to conclude,” he said in a letter written on his release.
The Supreme Court had granted him bail on May 14 in the Bhima Koregaon case subject to the payment of Rs 20 lakh towards the cost of his security during his house arrest. He was released from custody on Saturday evening.
“It proved to be a long wait but well worth it,” he wrote.
Navlakha, 70, is among 16 academicians, activists and lawyers who have been charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for their alleged role in instigating caste violence at Bhima Koregaon near Pune in January 2018.
He was arrested in August 2018 and placed under house arrest in November 2022 after the Supreme Court granted his request to be shifted from jail on the grounds of ill health and poor facilities in prison.
In December, the Bombay High Court granted Navlakha bail on grounds that there was no material to suggest that he had...
