"Gautam Navlakha is not a template": Delhi High Court reiterates it will not allow plea by ex-PFI chief E Abubacker for house arrest

The Delhi High Court on Monday allowed former Popular Front of India (PFI) chief E Abubacker's son to accompany him to All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) for his cancer consultation and treatment. .A division bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh, however, reiterated that it will not allow Abubacker's plea to place him under house arrest instead of putting him in prison.In this regard, the High Court underlined that the Supreme Court's orders in Gautam Navlakha case cannot be used as a template to seek house arrest. A similar request was denied by the court on November 30 too. “Gautam Navlakha is not a template that you come here and say I am 70-years-old… We can’t grant you house arrest. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has powers that this court does not have. If your medical condition requires hospitalisation, we can direct that,” the High Court remarked.Recently, the Supreme Court had ordered that Gautam Navlakha, accused in Bhima Koregaon, be shifted to house arrest instead of lodging him in jail. .Advocate Adit S Pujari, appearing for Abubacker, told the Court that Abubacker is old and suffers from Parkinson's disease and at least an attendant should be allowed to be with him. The Court said that his son can accompany him to the hospital for his scheduled visit on December 22. The bench also directed the Tihar Jail and AIIMS to submit their reports to the court report regarding Abubacker's condition. “The Medical Superintendent Tihar Jail shall file the opinion and treatment prescribed to the appellant by the oncosurgery department of AIIMS on the next date of hearing by providing an advanced copy to the appellant,” the Court ordered. The matter will be heard again on January 5. .Abubacker was arrested by the NIA on September 22 in a nationwide crackdown on against PFI activists. He has been charged with several provisions under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and has been in custody since October 6. He hails from a village in Kerala's Kozhikode and was active in organisations like the Ideal Students League, Jama’at-e-Islami and Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).His plea for bail on medical grounds was already rejected by the trial court. .Advocate Adit S Pujari appeared for Abubacker. NIA was represented by Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Akshai Malik and advocate Khawar Saleem. .Delhi High Court refuses plea to place former PFI chief E Abubacker under house arrest instead of jail