The Bombay High Court on Friday issued a notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and sought its response to a plea by P Varavara Rao, an accused in the 2018 Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case. Rao, who is currently on bail, wants permission to permanently live in his hometown Hyderabad pending trial.
Grounds for Relocation
Rao, against whom the stringent anti-terror law UAPA is invoked, has cited financial hardship and age-related constraints as grounds to stay in Hyderabad where his family resides. A bench of Justices Ajey S Gadkari and Kamal R Khata issued a notice to the NIA on the plea and sought its response within two weeks.
Earlier Rejection
A special trial court in March had rejected Rao’s plea to relocate to his native place and his own home there. Rao’s bail condition requires him to stay in Mumbai. The High Court had, in the case of a co-accused Gautam Navlakha who is on bail and was asked to stay in Mumbai, permitted his relocation to Delhi pending trial. The trial is yet to commence.
Financial and Personal Constraints
Rao’s plea states that the cost of living in Mumbai is higher and he has to spend a lot on rent. He mentioned that he even has to borrow from his children, which affects his dignity and self-independence in financial matters besides being an added burden on the children. The Supreme Court had earlier said he cannot leave Mumbai without the special NIA court’s nod, hence the trial court was empowered to permit his shift. The court interpreted such a nod for temporary relief as erroneous.
Background
Rao, who is in his 80s, was arrested in August 2018. He first got bail in February 2021 from the Bombay High Court on medical grounds for six months initially. In August 2022, the Supreme Court granted him permanent bail on medical grounds, subject to not leaving Mumbai without the NIA special court’s permission.
