Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday issued a notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and sought its response to P Varavara Rao, an accused in the 2018 Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case who wants permission to permanently live in his hometown Hyderabad pending trial while on bail. 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 is.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.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 HC 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.Rao’s plea is that the cost of living in Mumbai is more and he has to spend a lot on rent. He said he even has to borrow from his children and “it affects his dignity and self-independence in financial matters besides being an added burden on the children”.The Supreme Court had said he cannot leave Mumbai without the special NIA court’s nod, hence the trial court was empowered to permit his shift in his case and the court interpreting such a nod for a temporary relief was erroneous.Rao, who is in his 80s, was arrested in August 2018, and first got bail in February 2021 from 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.
