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Delhi High Court ends Journalist and activist Gautam Navlakha’s house arrest

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8 years ago

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Delhi High Court ends Journalist and activist Gautam Navlakha’s house arrest

The Delhi High Court today (Monday, October 1) set free journalist and social activist Gautam Navlakha from house arrest while quashing a local court order granting transit remand to Maharashtra police to transfer him to Pune.

Navlakha was one of five rights activists under house arrest in the Bhima Koregaon case. The Pune police had arrested Navlakha from Delhi last month following searches in several cities.

The development comes days after the Supreme Court, while extending the house arrest of Navlakha and others by four weeks, said the accused could seek legal recourse in an appropriate court

The High Court bench of Justice S Muralidhar and Justice Vinod Goel said that the transit remand was given by the local court without compliance of mandatory provisions of the Constitution and Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The judges said that in light of the “non-compliance” of the Constitution of India and the Code of Criminal procedure, “it is obvious that the order passed by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) is unsustainable in law.“

The court noted that the transit remand order was passed in violation of the mandate of Article 22 of the Constitution and Sections 41(1)(ba) and 167 of the Code of Criminal procedure.

It said that the CMM had passed the order without due satisfaction with respect to the “existence” of material proving necessity of arrest. Neither the case diary was perused by the CMM, nor the ground of arrest were communicated to Navlakha, said the court.

The Court lifted the house arrest order, saying, “In view of Section 56 and 57 of CrPC and absence of remand order by the CMM, detention of Petitioner has exceeded 24 hours, which is untenable in law.”

“Consequently, house arrest of Petitioner comes to an end as of now,” ordered the Bench, rejecting the argument of the Maharashtra Police to extend the house arrest by few more days. The Maharashtra Police wanted to take Navlakha to Pune in connection with an FIR lodged there following an event — ‘Elgaar Parishad’ (conclave) — held on December 31 last year that had triggered violence at Koregaon-Bhima village.

The Court observed that the apex court had extended the house arrest by four more weeks to make the Petitioner “avail the remedies” available under law.

The Court clarified that the Maharashtra Police may nonetheless proceed with the case in accordance with law.

Navlakha was detained by Maharashtra Police from his residence in South Delhi’s Nehru Enclave late August in presence of Delhi Police (Special Cell) SWAT team.

Last week, the Supreme Court held that the crackdown and arrests of five activists, including Navlakha, from some parts of the country in the Bhima-Koregaon violence case on August 28 was not an attempt to silence dissent.

By a majority opinion, the top court dismissed the petition filed by historian Romila Thapar and four others seeking a Supreme Court–monitored special investigation team (SIT) probe into the allegations raised against the five arrested activists — poet Vara Vara Rao, lawyer Sudha Bhardwaj, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves and Navlakha.

The Supreme Court gave the accused four weeks time to take legal remedy and seek bail in a lower court.

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West Bengal Governor dissolves Assembly amid political transition 

Governor R N Ravi dissolved the West Bengal Assembly after the 2026 poll results, with the BJP securing a majority in the state elections.

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1 hour ago

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May 7, 2026

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The West Bengal Legislative Assembly was dissolved following the conclusion of the 2026 Assembly elections, in which the Bharatiya Janata Party secured a clear majority in the state.

Governor R N Ravi issued the order dissolving the Assembly as the state prepared for the transition of power after the election results. According to reports, the BJP won 207 seats in the 294-member Assembly, while the Trinamool Congress secured 80 seats.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee questioned the election outcome and alleged irregularities in the poll process, claiming the mandate had been “looted”.

The dissolution came as the tenure of the existing Assembly ended on May 7, 2026. The development has sparked political discussions over the formation of the next government in the state.

Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee held a meeting with newly elected Trinamool Congress MLAs in Kolkata and reportedly raised concerns over internal sabotage during the elections.

The BJP is expected to begin the formal process of government formation in West Bengal after its decisive victory in the Assembly polls.

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Eknath Shinde’s helicopter returns to Mumbai mid-flight due to bad weather

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s helicopter was forced to return to Mumbai after the pilot detected approaching storm conditions during a flight to Thane district.

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2 hours ago

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May 7, 2026

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Eknath_shinde (1)

A helicopter carrying Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was forced to return to Mumbai on Thursday after encountering adverse weather conditions during a flight to Thane district.

According to officials, Shinde had departed from Mahalaxmi Racecourse in south Mumbai around 3.30 pm and was travelling to Murbad in Thane district to attend a wedding function related to a party worker’s family.

The helicopter reportedly reached the Airoli area in Navi Mumbai when the pilot noticed an approaching storm and informed the deputy chief minister about the deteriorating weather conditions. Following the alert, the flight was turned back as a precautionary measure.

The helicopter later landed safely at the Pawan Hans facility in Juhu, Mumbai. Officials said Shinde was accompanied by members of his staff, including personal assistant Prabhakar Kale, special executive officer Balsingh Rajput and media adviser Vinay Patrdukar.

The incident comes amid changing weather conditions and storm activity reported in parts of Maharashtra in recent days.

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Nitish Kumar’s son Nishant among 32 inducted in Bihar cabinet expansion

Nishant Kumar entered the Bihar cabinet for the first time as 32 ministers from NDA allies took oath in a major expansion of the state government.

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5 hours ago

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May 7, 2026

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Bihar government cabinet

A major cabinet expansion took place in Bihar on Thursday, with 32 leaders from the ruling NDA alliance inducted into the state government. Among the prominent names was Nishant Kumar, son of former Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who entered the cabinet for the first time.

The expansion included representatives from all major NDA allies in the state. According to reports, the BJP secured 15 ministerial berths, while JD(U) got 13 positions. Two ministers were inducted from Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), while Hindustani Awam Morcha and Rashtriya Lok Morcha received one berth each.

The oath-taking ceremony was held in Patna in the presence of senior NDA leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

Nishant Kumar’s induction comes weeks after he formally entered active politics. His entry into the Bihar cabinet is being viewed as a significant development for JD(U), which had long projected an anti-dynasty image under Nitish Kumar’s leadership.

The cabinet reshuffle follows Nitish Kumar’s move to the Rajya Sabha earlier this year and the formation of the government led by Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary.

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