NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday decided to hear on April 9 the appeal filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against the bail granted to activist Gautam Navlakha in the Bhima Koregaon violence case and extended the stay on the Bombay high court’s December 19 ruling that ordered his release on bail.

The bench of justices MM Sundresh and SVN Bhatti also heard a separate petition filed by Navlakha to request shifting the location of his house arrest to Mumbai. Navlakha, who faces a probe under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence case, is currently under house arrest in Navi Mumbai.

Additional solicitor general (ASG) SV Raju opposed Navlakha’s petition and argued that he was yet to pay the ₹1 crore spent on maintaining round-the-clock security cover provided by the Maharastra police.

Senior advocate Nithya Ramakrishnan appearing for Navlakha, disputed the amount alleging that the NIA was trying to “extort” the money from the petitioner who has no source of income.

ASG opposed Ramakrishnan’s choice of words. The bench eventually posted the petition or a hearing on April 9 when it will take up NIA’s petition challenging the high court’s bail order.

Navlakha, aged 72, was arrested in April 2020 in connection with the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence in Maharashtra. He is accused of having links with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and faces charges under UAPA.

The Bhima Koregaon case pertains to alleged inflammatory speeches made at an Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune on December 31, 2017 which, police claimed, triggered violence the next day near Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city. One person was killed in the incident.

Navlakha, one of the 16 activists and intellectuals accused in the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case, allegedly gave an inflammatory speech during the Elgar Parishad conclave at Shaniwarwada, Pune on December 31, 2017. Charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, he was arrested in April 2020.

The activist was granted temporary house arrest on November 10, 2022 due to his deteriorating health after spending over three years at the Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai. He was placed under house arrest on November 19 in Navi Mumbai.