A special court on Tuesday allowed veteran journalist and activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case, to be taken outside the anda cell he is lodged in at Taloja Central Prison for 30 minutes, reports The Indian Express.
Special Judge Dinesh E Kothalikar passed an order permitting a daily walk of 30 minutes for Navlakha in presence of prison guards inside the jail premises.
The order added that if the relief is misused, it may be discontinued by the jail authority on submitting a report to the court.
Navlakha in his plea filed last December had said that he is 70 and lodged in the prison as an undertrial.
The plea added that he is aware that his stay is the jail could be prolonged.
“Though my life and liberty stand compromised without trial and I wait patiently for justice and freedom, I have not forfeited my rights…I have to make sure that my physical and mental health do not suffer due to prolonged incarceration,” his plea said. Navlakha was arrested in April 2020 in connection with the case.
Navlakha, an award-winning human rights activist, is among dozens of Modi’s critics languishing in jail under stringent terror law, UAPA.
