Elgar Parishad: NIA gets time till July 8 to file reply to Hany Babu's bail plea

Mumbai, Jul 01: The Bombay High Court on Friday granted a week's time to the National Investigating Agency (NIA) to file its reply to a bail plea filed by Delhi University associate professor and Elgar Parishad case accused Hany Babu.

A bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and NR Borkar said it was granting time till July 8 to the NIA as a "last chance" to file its reply. On June 8, the NIA had told another bench of Bombay HC it will file its reply to Babu's plea within two weeks.

On Friday, however, NIA counsel Sandesh Patil told the bench led by Justice Jamdar the agency's reply was "ready" but it hadn't been filed in HC yet since it has been "sent to Delhi (the NIA office in Delhi) for approval".

Patil then asked for another week for the same. Agreeing to the request, the bench said "we will give you one more week by way of last chance" and posted the matter for further hearing on July 8. Babu approached HC last month challenging an order of the special NIA court rejecting his bail plea earlier this year.

Babu in his plea said Special NIA Judge DE Kothalikar had "erred" in holding there existed prima facie incriminating material against him. In his plea filed through advocates Yug Chaudhary and Payoshi Roy, Babu said that while the NIA had cited as evidence in the case a letter speaking of a conspiracy to kill Prime Mnister Narendra Modi, the alleged letter did not incriminate him. Babu further said in his plea there existed no evidence to even suggest he intended to, or, supported causing disaffection against India.

PTI