Mumbai, June 12 -- The Bombay High Court on Friday, June 12, issued notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on a petition by Telugu poet P Varavara Rao seeking permission to shift his residence to Hyderabad, with the 85-year-old Bhima Koregaon accused saying he can no longer afford to live in Mumbai.

A division bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Kamal Khata directed the NIA to file its reply within two weeks.

Rao, booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the Bhima Koregaon violence case, has challenged a March 16 order of a special NIA court that dismissed his application to reside in Hyderabad.

As a condition of his bail, Rao is not permitted to leave Mumbai.

The Supreme Court had in 2022 granted him bail on...