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The court allowed the move with safeguards, barring Navlakha from leaving Delhi without trial court permission, ordering him to surrender his passport, and directing him to report weekly at the Kalkaji police station.

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The Bombay High Court on Wednesday allowed human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, who is on bail in the Bhima Koregaon case, to shift his residence to New Delhi while the trial remains pending.

A division bench of Justices Bharati H. Dangre and Shyam C. Chandak set conditions for the move, directing Navlakha not to leave Delhi without prior permission from the trial court and to deposit his passport with the authorities.

The order came on a petition filed by Navlakha challenging a June 2025 decision of a special court that had refused to relax bail conditions restricting him to Mumbai.

As part of the safeguards, the court directed Navlakha to report to the Kalkaji police station near his Delhi residence every Saturday. He has also been asked to remain present before the special court under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act at the stage of framing of charges and on all other dates deemed crucial by the trial court, unless exempted.

“We are conscious that you are entitled to your liberty (since out on bail), but you are not a free man yet, so reporting once a week is not very difficult,” the bench observed during the hearing.

Navlakha was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in December 2023, with a condition that he remain within the jurisdiction of the Mumbai court. That order was upheld by the Supreme Court in May 2024, after which he was released from custody and began living in Mumbai with his partner, Sahba Husain.

Earlier this week, the High Court indicated it was inclined to allow his plea, noting that a 73-year-old person living away from his hometown could feel “lost and uprooted from his society and friends”. The bench also said there was no material to suggest that Navlakha posed a flight risk.

Appearing for Navlakha, advocate Yug Mohit Chaudhry told the court that his client was struggling with the “high cost of living” in Mumbai and had been financially dependent on friends and family since being released on bail. He argued that the trial had not yet begun and was likely to take considerable time, and sought permission for Navlakha to stay in Delhi.

The plea was opposed by Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh and advocate Chintan Shah, representing the NIA. They argued that allowing Navlakha to relocate could open the door for similar requests from other accused, many of whom are from outside Maharashtra, potentially complicating the conduct of the trial.

The Bhima Koregaon or Elgaar Parishad case relates to a meeting held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which authorities allege featured provocative speeches that led to caste violence at the Bhima Koregaon war memorial the next day.

Investigators allege that Navlakha was part of a larger conspiracy and had links with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), accusations he has denied. He has been charged under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code, including conspiracy, sedition and waging war against the state.

Navlakha was arrested in April 2020, having earlier been placed under house arrest in 2018. Citing his age and health, the Supreme Court shifted him from Taloja jail to house arrest in November 2022, subject to his paying Rs 20 lakh towards surveillance costs.

In May 2024, the top court granted him regular bail with the condition that he reside in Mumbai, a restriction now partly relaxed by the High Court.