Court proceedings

A Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma passed the order after Raut moved the Court citing serious health concerns. Raut suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, a progressive autoimmune disorder that attacks the joints, bones, and muscles. He argued that the necessary specialised treatment was unavailable inside prison facilities or in government hospitals, making interim release essential.

Senior Advocate C.U. Singh, appearing for Raut, highlighted that the Bombay High Court had already granted him regular bail in September 2023 after finding no sufficient material to justify continued detention. However, that relief never took effect because the High Court, at the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) request, stayed the order for a week to allow the agency to move the Supreme Court. Since then, the stay has been extended repeatedly.

In the Bombay High Court, advocate Vijay Hiremath and his colleague, advocate, Swaroop Nair had appeared for Mahesh Raut.

Although Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju was not present, another counsel appeared on behalf of the NIA and opposed the plea. The prosecution reiterated its allegations that Raut was responsible for fund transfers to Maoists and maintained that the charges against him were serious.

The Court, however, sided with the petitioner on medical grounds, observing:

“The applicant is seeking interim bail on medical grounds coupled with the fact that he was actually granted bail (by the High Court). We are inclined to grant medical bail for a period of six weeks.”

In its order, the Bench noted that “Inasmuch as the applicant – Mahesh Sitaram Raut is seeking interim bail on medical ground, coupled with the fact that he was actually granted bail by the High Court, against which the Special Leave Petition has been filed by the NIA, we are inclined to grant medical bail, for a period of six weeks, from the date on which the conditions are imposed by the concerned Trial Court. Accordingly, the applicant – Mahesh Sitaram Raut is granted interim bail for a period of six weeks, as aforementioned, subject to the terms and conditions 2 that can be imposed by the Trial Court”.

Raut is currently lodged in Taloja Central Jail, where several other co-accused in the case have also been held.

The complete order may be read here.

Earlier interim bails granted to Raut

This is the third instance of the Supreme Court granting Raut temporary release in the past year, in addition to reliefs granted by lower courts:

• April–May 2024: A special NIA court in Pune granted him interim bail to prepare for and appear in his LL.B. second semester examinations. The order directed that he be released between April 20 and May 16, subject to a personal bond of ₹50,000, disclosure of his residence, and sharing of his phone number for tracking purposes. The court also permitted the NIA to monitor his phone during the bail period.
• June–July 2024: A vacation bench of the Supreme Court granted him two weeks’ interim bail (June 26–July 10) to perform ceremonies connected with the last rites of his grandmother. The NIA opposed this plea on grounds of jurisdiction, but the Court ruled that since its own proceedings were pending, the application was rightly before it.
• September 2024: The Bombay High Court ordered Siddharth Law College, Mumbai, to admit Raut as a student for the 2024–2027 LL.B. batch, holding that imprisonment cannot strip a person of their right to education. The Court said that refusing admission despite a validly allotted seat would amount to violation of his fundamental right to education.

These repeated interim releases illustrate how courts have recognised Raut’s educational and familial rights, even while his broader entitlement to bail remains in abeyance.

Background of the case

The Elgar Parishad event on December 31, 2017, held in Pune to mark the bicentenary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon, became the starting point for a sweeping investigation. Authorities alleged that “inflammatory speeches” delivered at the event incited the caste violence that broke out the next day between Dalits and Marathas.

The case was initially probed by the Pune Police, which later transferred it to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Investigators alleged that the event was a front for a larger Maoist conspiracy to destabilise the State and wage war against the country.

A total of 16 activists, lawyers, and academics were arrested, including Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha, Hany Babu, Shoma Sen, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Sudhir Dhawale, Ramesh Gaichor, Sagar Gorkhe, Jyoti Jagtap, Mahesh Raut, and Father Stan Swamy.

The prosecution’s case against Raut specifically alleges that he was a member of CPI (Maoist), recruited others into the organisation, and was entrusted with ₹5 lakh in funds as per a letter allegedly recovered from co-accused Rona Wilson’s laptop.

Over the years, courts have released several co-accused on bail:

• Sudha Bharadwaj (default bail, December 2021 – upheld by Supreme Court)
• Varavara Rao (medical bail, August 2022 – Supreme Court)
• Anand Teltumbde (merit bail, 2022 – upheld by Supreme Court)
• Vernon Gonsalves & Arun Ferreira (July 2023 – Supreme Court)
• Shoma Sen (April 2024 – Bombay HC, upheld by SC)
• Gautam Navlakha (May 2024 – Bombay HC, upheld by SC)

However, the bail plea of Jyoti Jagtap, a Kabir Kala Manch member, remains pending. The Bombay High Court had earlier rejected her plea in October 2022, noting that certain dialogues in Kabir Kala Manch plays ridiculed government slogans such as Ram Mandir, gomutra, and acche din, and were prima facie capable of inciting hatred. Her case will now be taken up by the Supreme Court in October 2025, along with Mahesh Raut.

Notably, Father Stan Swamy, also an accused in the case, died in judicial custody in July 2021 after being repeatedly denied interim bail despite suffering from Parkinson’s disease and ill health. His death drew sharp criticism of the State’s handling of UAPA detainees.

The Bail Puzzle: Two years of inaction

Mahesh Raut was granted regular bail on merits by the Bombay High Court in September 2023, making him the sixth accused in the case to secure such relief. The High Court found that there was no substantive evidence linking him directly to violent or terror-related activity.

However, the High Court, at the NIA’s request, stayed its own order for one week to allow the agency to file an appeal. The Supreme Court subsequently admitted the appeal and extended the stay indefinitely. For two years since then, Raut’s regular bail has been in suspension, leaving him confined despite the judicial finding in his favour.

The Supreme Court’s decision to release Mahesh Raut on medical grounds for six weeks adds to the string of temporary reliefs he has been granted over the years — to study, to grieve, and now to access medical care. Yet, the fundamental question remains unresolved: why does a man, whom the Bombay High Court found entitled to bail on merits two years ago, remain behind bars?

The prolonged suspension of his bail underscores a troubling pattern in UAPA cases — where interim reliefs are allowed piecemeal, but substantive liberty is indefinitely deferred. This effectively neutralises the High Court’s judgment and leaves the accused in a legal limbo, serving an unofficial sentence without trial.

Related:

Gautam Navlakha granted bail by Supreme Court in Bhima Koregaon case; orders him to pay 20 lakhs for the expenses incurred during his house arrest

Bhima Koregaon Case: HRDs and families await justice, five years down

SC grants bail to Varavara Rao on medical grounds in Bhima Koregaon case

Bhima Koregaon case: Why did Bombay HC grant bail to Sudha Bharadwaj, but not her co-accused?

The post Supreme Court grants six-week interim medical bail to Bhima Koregaon accused Mahesh Raut appeared first on SabrangIndia.

It has been further been reported that the court also agreed to a three-week stay on its decision in which the National Investigation Agency can approach the Supreme Court. They urged the court to stay operation of the order for a period of six weeks. As per a report in Livemint, Navlakha has been granted bail on the surety of one lakh rupees.

The prosecution has relied on 336 witnesses in the case. The trial, however, is yet to commence. Recently, Navlakha was also named as an accused in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act case filed in relation to the online portal NewsClick. Two people – Editor Prabir Purkayastha and HR head Amit Chakraborty – have been arrested in that case. Journalists’ bodies from across the country have criticised the police action in the case as an attack on media freedom. As per the report of the Print, the Delhi Police had recently asked for an extension of three months to complete their investigation in the NewsClick case, and said that they would be questioning Navlakha on Wednesday.

Brief Background of the case

The said case pertains to alleged inflammatory speeches delivered at the ‘Elgar Parishad’ conclave, held at Shaniwarwada in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police had claimed to have triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial, located on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city, located around 200km from Mumbai.

The Pune police, which probed the case initially, had claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists. The NIA later took over the probe into the case, in which more than a dozen activists and academicians were named as accused.

Navlakha, who is a human rights activist and former secretary of People’s Union for Democratic Rights, was arrested in August 2018, but was initially placed under house arrest. He has been booked under the stringent anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the alleged conspiracy behind the Bhima Koregaon violence of January 2018.

Navlakha has been in custody since April 14, 2020, in the Taloja Central Prison in Maharashtra, after the Supreme Court directed him to surrender before the NIA after rejecting his bail application. His plea seeking an extension to surrender in view of the Coronavirus pandemic was also rejected.

On September 5, 2022, a special NIA court judge Rajesh J Katariya had rejected the bail plea of Navlakha. The NIA had vehemently opposed Navlakha’s bail plea by claiming that he had been introduced to a Pakistan Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) General for his recruitment, which shows his nexus with the organisation. They had also described him as a member of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist).

However, on November 10, the Supreme Court allowed his plea to be shifted back to house arrest for a month, albeit with rather stringent conditions. The bench of Justices KM Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy, had noted that while charge sheet has been filed against Navlakha on October 9, 2020 no charges were yet framed against him and that he has been in custody as an under trial prisoner since April 14, 2020. The Supreme Court was also ‘mystified’ as to why the High Court did not consider Navlakha’s age (70) as a basis to consider his application for house arrest. This was extended by another month on December 13.

Related:

Bombay HC quashes order rejecting bail plea of Navlakha by special court, orders expeditious rehearing

SC directs NIA to execute Gautam Navlakha’s house arrest within 24 hours

Gautam Navlakha’s house arrest: Stringent Conditions Apply
Bhima Koregaon case: Prof Anand Teltumbde granted bail on merits by Bom HC
Elgar Case: 4 Days After SC Order, Navlakha Yet to be Placed Under House Arrest

Elgar Case: Special NIA Court Denies Bail to Activist Gautam Navlakha

Bhima Koregaon case: 5 years on, charges not framed despite repeat extensions 2022: Looking back at the best judgments from Indian courts

On the firing line:  Human rights warriors of 2022

Evidence planted on Jesuit-activist Stan Swamy’s laptop: Arsenal US Report

The post Bhima Koregaon accused Gautam Navlakha granted bail by the Bombay HC appeared first on SabrangIndia.

As per Bar and Bench, the bench stated that “Prima facie section 13 (unlawful activities) and 38 (membership of terrorist organisation) of the UAPA are applicable and section 16 (terrorist act), 17 (funds raised for terrorist act) and 18 (conspiracy) are not made out.” The bench further provided that the bail conditions to be imposed on Mahesh Raut will be same as the ones imposed on Anand Temtumbe, who was another accused in the Bhima Koregaon Elgar Parishad Violence case.

It is essential to note that the Court stayed its bail order for one week after the National Investigation Authority (NIA) sought time to file appeal against the same before the Supreme Court. Notably, NIA had requested a stay of two weeks.

It is crucial to note here that Raut is the sixth person to get bail in the Bhima Koregaon case after Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao, Anand Teltumbde, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira. Notably, Varavara Rao had been granted bail on medical grounds in August 2022. Another accused under the same case, Gautam Navlakha, has been placed under house arrest after the Supreme Court order to that effect. Of the total, 8 are still in prison and Father Stan Swamy has passed away.

The case against Mahesh Raut-

Mahesh Sitaram Raut was booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967 for allegedly having Maoist links and indulging in criminal conspiracy related to the Bhima Koregaon riots.  He was first accused by the police of plotting an assassination attempt against PM Modi and delivering speeches, sending emails and circulating pamphlets which reportedly sparked violence in January 2018.

Mahesh Raut was earlier denied bail by the Pune Session Court in 2019 and by the Special NIA Court in Mumbai in 2021. Raut had then moved the Bombay High Court, appealing against the rejection of bail by the NIA Court.

Arguments by counsel representing Raut: Senior Advocate Mihir Desai and Advocate Vijay Hiremath were representing Raut in the High Court. During the hearings, Advocate Desai had contended that National Investigating Agency (NIA) had built the case against Raut by relying on the two letters which were allegedly recovered from the computer of other two accused. He had submitted the court that neither the two letters were found from Mahesh Raut nor were they written or signed by Raut.

It was also argued by Desai that Raut had spent over 5 years in custody and deserved to be released since the trial was yet to begin. Additionally, Desai also sought parity with the high court’s order granting bail to Anand Teltumde in November 2022 and the Supreme Court’s order granting bail to Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in July 2023.

Arguments by counsel representing NIA: Additional Solicitor General, Devang Vyas, appearing for the National Investigation Agency had argued before the high court that Raut was a member of CPI Maoist and the letter recovered from the co-accused referred to the state as an enemy. Vyas had contended that the CPI Maoists work in a structured manner and it had undertaken fact fact-finding mission to propagate their ideology. He added that Bhima Koregaon was a larger conspiracy that attempted to topple the democratically elected government.

The counsel had argued that it was not justiciable for Raut, accused under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), to seek bail on constitutional grounds when his acts are against the interests of the State and society and the unity, integrity, security and sovereignty of India. Vyas had also relied upon evidence which allegedly showed that the Communist Party of India (Maoist) had given Raut ₹5 lakh along with co-accused Surendra Gadling and Sudhir Dhawale. Lastly, Vyas had also provided that Raut was an active member of the CPI Maoist and he had recruited people to deploy them in the forest in furtherance of the activities of CPI Maoist.

As per a report in the LiveLaw, while Vyas had claimed that the CPI Maoist “created a scenario that led to violence at Bhima Koregaon where a person was killed”, the bench had clarified that ‘There was no intention to ‘kill’ the person. The person died in the riots.”

A timeline of the Bhima Koregaon case can be accessed here.

Who is Mahesh Raut?

Mahesh Raut had been arrested in June 2018 and has remained in custody since. He was just 31-years-old then. He had graduated from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in 2011 after which he did a fellowship on conflict zones. He is forest rights activist and a former fellow of the prestigious Prime Minister’s Rural Development Programme and worked with the Gadchiroli Collector.

A deep dive in to his work can be read here.

Related:

Bhima Koregaon case: 5 years on, charges not framed despite repeat extensions

Bhima Koregaon case: SC directs NIA court to decide on framing charges within three months

Bhima Koregaon: Accused Sagar Gorkhe goes on hunger strike against jail authorities

Bhima Koregaon case: Shambhaji Bhide’s name dropped!

Bhima Koregaon: Bombay HC castigates prison authorities while hearing Gautam Navlakha’s house arrest plea

On the firing line:  Human rights warriors of 2022

Evidence planted on Jesuit-activist Stan Swamy’s laptop: Arsenal US Report

The post Bhima Koregaon Case: Mahesh Raut, youngest accused, granted bail by the Bombay HC! appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Amidst contested accusations of an anti-India conspiracy, militancy, and violence, five long years have passed since the BK-16 have been imprisoned without trial. The case has thrown up loopholes in the conduct and investigations by the investigative agencies; yet the needle of justice delivery has not moved. Senior advocates, human rights defenders and journalists continue to be behind bars.

In the pursuit of justice and the protection of human rights, the Bhima Koregaon case has become a symbol of injustice inflicted upon human rights activists. For the past five years, these brave individuals, known in popular parlance as the BK-16, have been entangled in a web of false accusations and an alarming lack of progress in their trials. This distressing situation not only undermines the principles of fairness and due process but also sends a chilling message to activists across the nation. The prolonged absence of a proper trial, in this case, raises serious questions about the integrity of the judicial system and the treatment of those advocating for justice and equality. It is high time to acknowledge these grave injustices and work towards a society that values and upholds the rights of human rights defenders.

Among the starkest markers over the past five years have been the eloquent pleas of family members –daughters of Shoma Sen and Sudha Bhardwaj, son of Vernon, wives and families of the others and worst moment of all, the death while in custody of octogenarian, rights defender and Jesuit priest, Stan Swamy.

What is the historical significance of Bhima Koregaon?

Bhima-Koregaon is a small village located in the Pune district of Maharashtra. It holds significant historical importance in the Maratha history. On January 1, 1818, a British Army consisting mostly of Dalit soldiers achieved a victory over the Peshwa army, led by Peshwa Bajirao II, in the town of Koregaon.

The battle has acquired the status of a heroic legend. It is viewed as a triumph of the Mahars, a Dalit community, against the injustices perpetrated by the Peshwas, who were part of the upper-caste Maratha rulers in Maharashtra at the time.

In commemoration of the battle, the East India Company erected a pillar known as the Vijay Sthamb (victory pillar). Every year on January 1, thousands of Dalits gather at this pillar to pay their respects to those who fought for the British Army. On January 1, 1927, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar visited the Bhima-Koregaon site and initiated an annual tradition to celebrate the battle’s significance. Since then, every year lakhs of Ambedkarites from Maharashtra and other parts of the country peacefully assembled near the Ranstambh (victory pillar) in Perne village, Pune district, to commemorate the anniversary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle to honour the courage of the Mahar soldiers who fought against the Peshwa forces in the battle of 1818.

What transpired in 2017?

On December 31, 2017, commemorating the battle as well as the death anniversary of Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, a public gathering called ‘Elgar Parishad’ was organised by a group of 260 non-profit organisations and it had almost 35000 people attending the event.

Image source: The Scroll. These were known to be some of main organisers of the event.

During the gathering, various cultural performances, including Marathi hip-hop, took place, and several Dalit and Adivasi leaders delivered speeches. The meet was co-hosted by former judge of the Supreme Court, PB Sawant and former judge of the Bombay High Court, Justice BG Kolse Patil.

On December 31, 2-17 this gathering of activists, former judges and political leaders proclaimed their commitment to fight the repressive policies, economic, social, and cultural of the Modi regime. The Elgar Parishad that preceded the gathering at Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018 which was attacked and assaulted by some persons identified to be close to the sangh brigade. Shambhaji Bhide, along with Miling Ekbote were first accused of inciting Bhima Koregaon violence by giving inciteful and hate speeches just before the event which was the bi-centenary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. He is a controversial figure who has been active in propagating militant Hindutva ideology and building Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan. He has been rather active in the past three decades in supposedly ‘spreading awareness’ distorting facts related to the Shivaji Maharaj. He was formerly a worker with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

However, the Pune police –based on an FIR by a ‘Pune-based businessman’ subsequently alleged that the Elgaar Parishad event was part of a “Maoist conspiracy” aimed at overthrowing the Indian government. Consequently, the police conducted raids and arrested some of the organisers, accusing them of having connections with Maoist groups and using the meeting as a platform to incite public disorder. These arrests began in June 2018 and continued for a year and a quarter. However, retired judges involved in the event disagree with these claims, asserting that the gathering was intended to combat communalism and the increasing violence perpetrated by Hindutva groups, particularly those acting in the name of cow protection.

On the day of the commemoration on January 1, violence erupted as Dalit and Bahujan attendees reported being attacked by individuals carrying saffron flags. resulting in the death of a 30-year-old man from the Maratha community. A video capturing these events can be viewed here. On January 2, 2018, a local resident named Anita Sawale filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide, identified as Hindu extremist leaders. As a result of the violence that took place as many as 22 FIRs were registered in connection with the incident, with one of them implicating Mr. Dhawale and members of the Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) activist group.

This violence subsequently spread to other cities in western Maharashtra. In response, Dalit organisations called for a Bandh and even organised protest rallies on January 3, which resulted in a harsh crackdown by the police. In Mumbai alone, more than 300 Dalits, some as young as 14 years old, were arrested.

Who is Shambhaji Bhide?

Bhide, an influential socio-political leader known for his following in western Maharashtra, is an 84-year-old former member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to him as the “most respected Bhide Guruji” during a public meeting in 2014. Ekbote, on the other hand, is a 65-year-old former municipal corporator who was allegedly involved in communal riots in Satara district in 2003. The police claim that Ekbote now leads gau rakshak groups involved in extortion and violence, although both Bhide and Ekbote deny these allegations. Bhide asserts that he was in a different district at the time when the violence occurred.

June 2018 the assault begins on HRDs

In June 2018, Pune Police apprehended several activists, including Sudhir Dhawale, a Dalit activist and co-organiser of the Elgar Parishad event, and Surendra Gadling, a senior advocate, Shoma Sen, a professor at Nagpur University, and Rona Wilson, a human rights activist. Under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), they were accused of being co-conspirators in the Bhima-Koregaon incident. The police alleged their involvement in arms smuggling, funding Maoist activities, and for a plot planning to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi and wage war against the country. However, it is notable that most of those targeted and arrested had not attended either the Elgar Parishad or the Bhima-Koregaon commemoration.

Two months later, on August 28, 2018, the police conducted another round of simultaneous arrests across various locations, accusing activists and intellectuals Sudha Bharadwaj, Gautam Navlakha, Arun Ferreira, Varavara Rao, and Vernon Gonsalves of having Maoist connections. This led to legal battles and disputes within the courts. Importantly, during this period, the Pune police chose to disregard their own First Information Report (FIR) against Ekbote and Bhide, dated January 2, 2018.

International Conspiracies, Spyware: An investigation run awry?

Amidst lack of evidence, allegations of forced statements, delayed trial, and bail due to no progress in the investigation, the Elgaar Parishad has traversed a bumpy ride for the authorities.

Exposes of news of spyware used against the BK-16 came to light. Researchers in the United States discovered a connection between the Pune police and a hacking campaign aimed at imprisoned activists Rona Wilson, Varavara Rao, and Hany Babu, all implicated in the Bhima Koregaon (BK-16) case.

A report from Arsenal Consultancy, a digital forensic firm based in the United States, has uncovered that the evidence presented by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was deliberately planted by an unknown individual in the computers of Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, and most recently, Fr. Stan. 

The report raises serious doubts about the authenticity and integrity of the evidence collected. To address these allegations of unauthorised surveillance using the Pegasus spyware, the Supreme Court formed a technical committee on October 27, 2021, to conduct an investigation.

According to Wired, security firm SentinelOne uncovered links between hackers and the same Pune police agency that arrested multiple activists based on falsified evidence. Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade, a security researcher at SentinelOne, expressed concerns about the unethical and callous nature of these findings. The researchers strive to present as much evidence as possible to assist the victims.

What makes the case even more curious and murky was that the very first call for an alleged Maoist conspiracy related to the Elgaar Parishad did not emerge from the police but rather from a relatively obscure security think tank known as the Forum for Integrated National Security, located in Pune. Notably, Seshadri Chari, a prominent member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) National Executive Committee, serves as one of its secretaries general.

Justice delayed is justice denied

Delayed justice meant death for the 84 year old human rights defender and Jesuit priest, Fr Stan Swamy. During the hearing of his bail in the Bombay High Court (proceedings which were delayed by callous authorities leading it to be called a “death in judicial custody”), and he had been with great difficulty temporarily allowed (delayed) treatment at the Holy Family Hospital, Bandra he succumbed. His illness and death could have been avoided, wrote CJP Secretary and human rights defender Teesta Setalvad, after Fr Stan’s sad demise.

Swamy’s health had deteriorated significantly during his time in Taloja jail which prompted his lawyers to seek bail, which was consistently opposed by the state and denied by the NIA court. Eventually, following a High Court order, he was admitted to a charitable hospital in Bandra. In addition to suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, he also contracted Covid-19 while in jail. The NIA, in a long list of cruelties, even denied Fr Stan a mug with a straw sipper so that he could drink water, as his Parkinsons prevented him from drinking normally. The NIA, in a callous display of carelessness, stated to the court that they do not have a straw and sipper to give to Fr Stan.

And thus, the tribal activist Fr Stan passed away on July 5 2021, at age 84, before his bail hearing. He had been on ventilator support at Holy Family Hospital in Bombay. The medical director of the hospital informed the Bombay High Court that Father Stan had suffered a cardiac arrest in the morning. The court expressed shock and grief upon hearing the news and directed that his mortal remains be handed over to the Mumbai Jesuits.

Malicious attempts leave a catastrophe for families in their wake

Families of each of the BK-16 have raised their voices against the injustice being meted out to their loved ones. They have spoken tirelessly and bravely about the losses they’ve faced and the seemingly endless targeting the state has started.

Speaking on the unjust incarceration of her mother, Prof Shoma Sen, Koel Sen states that ‘These arrests just show the true face of the state. Today anyone can be called an ‘urban naxal’. Sen also spoke about the stringent measures taken by the prison in which her mother is lodged saying that the prison authorities were not allowing letters to be delivered to the inmates (apart from those by family).

While she was imprisoned, Sudha Bhardwaj’s daughter Maaysha, wrote a heart-touching letter to her mother, “If fighting for the rights of Adivasis, fighting for the rights of workers and peasants, fighting against repression and exploitation, and giving up one’s whole life for them, is being a Naxalite, then I guess Naxalites are pretty good.”

‘One can understand that all of the prejudice that lies outside society is present in an intense form in prison’, speaks Sudha Bharadwaj to CJP after her release. She speaks about the trials and tribulations, and brutality women prisoners face in prison. Narrating about how she was shamed for having removed her dupatta in prison, Bharadwaj recalls how gender, class differences and abuse against women play out in the women’s prison.

During one height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hany Babu had contracted a deadly eye black fungal infection largely because of the poor sanitary and health conditions in prison. His wife, Dr Jenny Rowena, had to file a petition in High Court seeking medical assistance, as well as interim bail. Bail was denied despite Dr Babu being on the verge of losing his eyesight as the disease spread. Negligence by prison authorities, and callous attitude of the investigative authorities almost left him to languish.

However, while Sudha Bharadwaj may have gotten released due to a technical lapse by the NIA, Dr Anand Teltumbde is the only one among the BK-16, an exception, who has been released on bail on merits, on the basis of no evidence found that incriminated him as an ‘alleged’ terrorist as the NIA falsely claimed. The rest of the remaining of the BK-16 still lie imprisoned behind bars.

In the wake of the devastating effect the state’s attack on India’s foremost human right’s defenders, CJP asks you sign our petition to the Maharashtra CM to release all the prisoners in the BK-16 case.

Related

What really happened at Bhima Koregaon?

Bhima Koregaon case: 5 years on, charges not framed despite repeat extensions

Fr. Stan Swamy’s legacy lives forever!

Kashmiri journalist, human right defender languishing in jail under a draconian law

The Shrinking Space for Free Media under Modi rule

The post The long & derailed course of justice: Bhima-Koregaon case appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Special NIA court, Mumbai has sought a time extension of one more year from the Supreme Court to frame charges in the case. This request was sent in November last year. On January 16, the Supreme Court said that it will proceed with hearing bail applications of activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira from January 30.

Last year in August while hearing Gonsalves’ plea, the apex court had given the Special Court three months’ time to decide whether charges are required to be framed against the accused or not. This three month period ended in November 2022, just when the Special Court sought an extension for another year!

The NIA has said that since the accused kept on filing applications, the court needed time to frame charges. The special court is hearing discharge pleas and informed the court that some accused are in the process of filing discharge pleas. The Special Court will first pass orders on their applications, then proceed with framing of charges, which will be the first step towards commencing the trial, reported Indian Express

Given these developments it is pertinent to look at the timeline of the sequence of incidents through the case, right from the registration of FIRs, arrest of the accused and the duration of their incarceration. Criminal trials in India are notorious for their delays. Trials under the most stringent laws like the NIA Act fare even worse.

Bhima Koregaon Case – a Timeline

December 31, 2017:  Elgar Praishad organised by former Supreme Court judge Justice PB Sawant and former high court judge Justice BG Kolse Patil regarding the historical significance of the battle fought between Peshwa Bajirao II and the British East Indian Company. In this battle, the British won and their army included members of Mahar Dalit community whose services were rejected by the Peshwas.

January 1, 2018: Violence broke out as Hindu right wing and Maratha groups had objected to the commemoration of the event which led to the death of 2 Dalits and several others were injured.

January 2, 2018: FIR registered by Anita Ravindra Salve, a member of the Bahujan Republican Socialist Party against Sambhaji Bhide (former RSS worker) and Milind Ekbote (former BJP and Shiv Sena corporator)

January 8, 2018: Complaint is filed by Pune businessman Tushar Damgude claiming that the violence at Bhima Koregaon was instigated by leftist activists. Members of the Kabir Kala Manch, including Sagar Gorkhe and Jyoti Jagtap were named in the FIR. FIR filed by Vishrambaug Police Station in Pune

May 17, 2018: Sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act are added to the case as the police allegedly found incriminating documents from the residence of the accused.

March 14, 2018: Milind Ekbote arrested and later granted bail on April 19, 2018

April 17, 2018: Raids conducted at homes of Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling and Sudhir Dhawale, as well as Kabir Kala Manch members Harshali Potdar, Jyoti Jagtap, Ramesh Ghaichor and Deepak Dhengle

June 6, 2018: Sudhir Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Shoma Sen, Rona Wilson arrested

August 28, 2018: Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Varavara Rao and Gautam Navlakha arrested. They were granted their request for house arrest by Supreme Court as the court was unsatisfied with the merits of the case

September 28, 2018: Apex court, in a 2:1 majority rejects request to set up Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case comprising of Romila Thapar and few other eminent persons. The dissenting judge was current CJI, DY Chandrachud who supported the plea for SIT since there was a “cloud on the impartiality of the investigative process.”

During arguments, advocates for the eminent citizens including historian Romila Thapar Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the case against five activists arrested in Koregaon-Bhima case was constructed in the name of former Delhi University Professor G N Saibaba who is serving life sentence for Maoist links. Thapar and other noted personalities, who had filed plea against the arrest of the five activists, said the case was based on 13 letters, which are in the public domain, either written or received by one Comrade Prakash, whom a lower court has said is actually Saibaba and now serving life sentence after his conviction to life imprisonment in 2017. The question was raised how a person in prison could be writing letters that then form the basis of such a serious case.

October and November2018: Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, taken into police custody, while Gautam Navlakha gets house arrest basis a high Court order

November 15, 2018: A charge sheet of more than 5,000 pages in filed alleging a larger conspiracy and Maoist links.

November 17, 2018: Poet activist, Varavara Rao taken into judicial custody

February 21, 2019: Supplementary charge sheet filed claiming that the Indian Association of People’s Lawyers, with which some of the accused were associated, is a front organisation for Maoists.

December 2019 – January 2020: Sharad Pawar, calls for the case to be handed over to a Special Investigation Team and the then Home Minister Anil Deshmukh explored in a meeting the reinvestigation of the case

January 24, 2020: Cases handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) by the Union Government

April 14, 2020: Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha surrender to NIA as their prayer for interim relief, even when the Covid-19 pandemic was at its peak, was denied

July 25, 2020: NIA interrogates Fr Stan Swamy for nearly 15 hours at his residence in Ranchi.

July 28, 2020: Prof. Hany Babu arrested.

September 8, 2020: Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor, and Jyoti Jagtap arrested. They released a video alleging that the NIA tried to get Gorkhe and Gaichor to be witnesses in the Bhima-Koregaon case, and pressured them to falsely admit to visiting Maoist leaders in a jungle in Gadchiroli

October 8, 2020: 83-year-old Father Stan Swamy (now deceased) was arrested

October 10, 2020: Another supplementary charge sheet filed against Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha, Hany Babu, Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Ghaichor, Jyoti Jagtap and Milind Teltumbde (now deceased) claiming that they conspired with the other accused to further the ideology of the banned CPI (Maoist) organisation

October 18 and 22, 2020: Stan Swamy filed for interim bail on medical ground which then denied on October 22, 2020

November 6, 2020: Father Stan Swamy’s request for a straw and sipper owing to his Parkinson’s disease refused; NIA said it does not have the same

December 4, 2020: Father Stan Swamy receives the straw and sipper

November 2020 to January 2021: Several bail pleas of the accused rejected

February 8, 2021: Boston based Arsenal Consulting released a forensic report stating that documents were wrongfully inserted into the hard drive of Rona Wilson using malware

February 22, 2021: Varavara Rao granted bail for six months on medical grounds

March 2021: Fr Stan Swamy’s bail plea denied by special NIA Court

May 19, 2021: While hearing Fr Swamy’s bail appeal, Bombay High Court directs JJ Hospital to form an expert panel to examine Swamy’s health

July 5, 2021: Father Stan Swamy passes away due to cardiac arrest

August 25, 2021: Special NIA court denies bail to Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha

September 22, 2021: Shoma Sen’s plea for bail on medical grounds rejected by special NIA court

December 1, 2021: Bombay high Court grants bail to Sudha Bharadwaj, while bail of Sudhir Dhawale, Mahesh Raut, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Rona Wilson, Shoma Sen, Surendra Gadling and Varavara Rao rejected

December 7, 2021: Supreme Court dismissed NIA’s appeal against Sudha Bharadwaj’s bail

December 9, 2021: Sudha Bharadwaj released from prison

February 14, 2022: Special Court denies bail to Hany Babu and Kabir Kala Manch members Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor and Jyoti Jagtap

August 10, 2022: Supreme Court grants Varavara Rao bail, removes High Court’s condition to surrender after three months

August 19, 2022: Supreme Court asked NIA Court to decide on framing of charges within 3 months

September 19, 2022: Bombay High Court rejects Hany Babu’s bail plea

May 4, 2022: Bombay High Court rejects review petition filed by Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira seeking default bail

May 5, 2022: Sambhaji Ekbote’s name dropped from the case

October 17, 2022: Bombay high Court denies bail to Jyoti Jagtap

November 10, 2022: Supreme Court granted Gautam Navlakha’s request for house arrest

November 18, 2022: Bombay High Court grants bail to Anand Teltumbde on merits

November 18, 2022: Supreme Court refuses to vacate order directing Gautam Navlakha’s house arrest and directs NIA’ to place him under house arrest within 24 hours          

November 25, 2022: Supreme Court rejects NIA’s appeal against bail of Anand Teltumbde

November 2022: Special NIA court seeks another year of extension for framing charges

December 2022: Another report of Arsenal Consulting shows that multiple incriminating documents were planted in the computer of Father Stan Swamy

January 2022: SC has stated, on January 16 that it will hear the bail pleas of activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira from January 30.

Related:

2022: Looking back at the best judgments from Indian courts

On the firing line:  Human rights warriors of 2022

Evidence planted on Jesuit-activist Stan Swamy’s laptop: Arsenal US Report

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A Division Bench of Bombay High Court has granted bail to Dalit scholar and former IIT professor Anand Teltumbde who was booked under the stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (prevention) Act (UAPA) in the Bhima Koregaon case.

The bench comprising Justices AS Gadkari and Milind Jadhav had reserved the order last week after having extensively heard Teltumbde’s appeal against Special NIA Court’s order dated July 12, 2020 rejecting his bail. The 72-year-old scholar has been in custody since April 14, 2020 when he was arrested by the NIA.

His bail has been decided on merits whereby the court has held that offences under section 13 (unlawful activities), 16 (terrorist act) and 18 (conspiracy) of the UAPA are not made out against him and only sections 38 (offences related to membership of a terrorist organization) and 39 (Offence relating to support given to a terrorist organization) were made out. While the bail has been granted, the same has been stayed for a week upon NIA’s request to allow it to appeal before the apex court. The NIA is also before the apex court challenging Bombay High Court’s order granting Gautam Navlakha’s house arrest plea. Navlakha is another accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.

The case against Teltumbde is that he was the convenor of Elgar Parishad conference held on December 31, 2017 which led to clashes in Bhima Koregaon resulting in one person’s death. When the police probed further and the NIA took over the case, it was alleged that there was a conspiracy to assassinate the Prime Minister. The NIA also alleges that Teltumbde is an active member of CPI (Maoists) and also linked him to his late brother, Milind, who was the Secretary of the (Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh) unit of the banned CPI(M). He was shot  at last year by security forces. Teltumbde asserted that he is critical of maoist ideology and that he had broken contact with his late brother for 25 years.

In his petition, Dr. Teltumbde denied the prosecution’s allegation that he was a convenor of the Elgar Parishad. The petition pointed out that he disagreed with the contents of the pamphlets and agendas of the Elgar Parishad, and wrote an article that clearly established the intellectual independence and disconnect of Dr. Teltumbde with Elgar Parishad or Bhima Koregaon, reported The Leaflet.

In September 2021, Teltumbde was refused bail on medical grounds by the NIA court and further in December 2021, his interim bail plea requesting leave to visit his 90-year-old mother after the death of his brother at the hands of security forces was also denied by NIA court. In March 2022, however, Bombay High Court granted him interim bail to visit his mother.

Sudha Bharadwaj, one of the 16 accused in this case, was granted default bail by Bombay High Court in December last year and activist, poet, Dr Varavara Rao was granted permanent bail on medical grounds in August this year by the Supreme Court. Last month, another accused, Jyoti Jagtap was denied bail by Bombay High Court. In August this year, the Supreme court directed the NIA to decide on the framing of charges in the case within three months hearing a bail petition filed by Vernon Gonsalves, another accused in the case. In September, Prof. Hany Babu’s regular bail plea was denied by the Bombay high Court.

Teltumbde’s bail is first such bail granted on merits in the Bhima Koregaon case. His release from prison will be subject to the appeal which will be filed before the apex court by NIA in the next few days; however, the Bombay High Court order granting him bail on merits will shed some new light on jurisprudence in bail under UAPA.

Related:

Gautam Navlakha’s house arrest: Stringent Conditions Apply

Elgar Case: 4 Days After SC Order, Navlakha Yet to be Placed Under House Arrest

Jyoti Jagtap denied bail: Elgar Parishad case, Bombay High Court

Draconian UAPA provisions, constitutionality challenged in the SC

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Sagar Gorkhe, a cultural activist who has been locked up in the Taloja Central Jail since September 2020 as a virtual political prisoner in the Elgar Parishad Bhima Koregaon case, has now gone on hunger strike to protest his inhuman treatment in jail. Gorkhe has written to Maharashtra’s Home Minister, informing him about his decision that he was forced to take due to Taloja Central Jail allegedly harassing him and denying him his basic human rights.

The letter brings to the light the following issues faced by Gorkhe and his co-accused:

Denial of Medical Treatment

In his letter, he states that he is being deliberately denied treatment from the prison medical officials by the prison Superintendent who is obstructing the access to such facilities in alliance with the medical officials despite knowing that the accused is suffering from various ailments such as back pain, joint pain and skin allergies, despite courts orders to provide access to medical services from external hospitals. He claims that there has also been intentional negligence in the medical treatment of his co-accused Gautam Navlakha, Ramesh Gaychor, Sudhir Dhawale, Mahesh Raut, Surendra Gadling, Anand Teltumbde, and Hany Babu as they too are afflicted with various illnesses. Along with several other inmates he claims to be suffering from skin diseases, as well as an increased number of flies and mosquitoes during the summer.

Violation of Right to Privacy

Every letter sent to him and his co-accused is illegally scanned by the superintendents and sent directly to investigation agencies. Instead of opening the letters in front of them, each letter that they receive is already opened and unsealed by the time it reaches them. The books, accompanying papers, and stamps are sneakily stolen. Similarly, the letter being sent outside is sent directly for scanning instead of being sealed in front of him.

Shortage of water

Contrary to the prison rules which entitles every inmate to 135 litres of water, prison administration provides only one bucket of water to every inmate which amounts to merely 15 litres which is not sufficient t o maintain proper hygiene. In the letter, he alleges that the inmates are forced to survive on 15 litres of water only so that the prison administrators can sell water.

Lack of facilities for visitors

In the letter, he complains about the inconvenience his family has to face, who travels hundreds of kilometres only to meet him as the prison lacks a visiting room, seating arrangements, clean drinking water, fans and even public toilets.

Denial of telephone service

Telephone service is being denied by the prison authorities citing reason that his charges are associated with Naxalism and according to them, he is not entitled to the service under Clause 3 of the Prisons and Correctional Services dated February 12, 2019, which excludes inmates charged with terrorist activities, sedition, naxalism, gang war, organised crime and habitual offenders from availing such services. In the letter, he claims that it is a violation of his fundamental human rights as he being an accused is treated as a convict without the accusation against him being proven to be true.

Accordingly, Gorkhe, in his letter, raises the following demands:

1.     Please provide me and my co-accused from the Elgar Parishad Case with immediate medical services and take action against the medical officials for negligence in duty.

2.     The scanning done by administration and investigation agencies should be stopped at once and with due process legal action should be taken against the culprits.

3.     Immediately put a stop to the perversely orchestrated water shortage in the prison and its inhumane sale. Immediately ensure every inmate is provided 135 litres of water and action is taken against those responsible.

4.     A permanent visiting room should be immediately constructed, and clean drinking water, sanitation, fans, and other facilities should be made available. An up-to-date token system should be implemented as soon as possible.

5.     The circular issued by the Prisons and Correctional Services dated 12.02.2019 should be revoked and according to the principle of equal justice all undertrial and convicted inmates should receive the services made available during the Covid-19 pandemic with due verification and following the Gujarat and Telangana State Jail telephone facility pattern.

It has been reported by Indian Express that co-accused Gautam Navlakha, on Monday submitted a plea before the special court seeking permission to use a mosquito net as he has an apprehension of contracting malaria and dengue.

A prison official reportedly stated, “The mosquito nets have a long string and need to be fixed through nails in the wall. Both the string and the nails are a security risk, which can be used by prisoners to harm themselves by suicide or harm others. Mosquito repellent ointments and coils are available at the prison canteen, which many are using. The nets were seized as there are no court orders permitting them.”

Related:

GN Saibaba to go on hunger strike to protest being placed under CCTV surveillance

Bombay HC dismisses Gautam Navlakha’s plea seeking house arrest

Bhima Koregaon case: Bombay HC denies bail to the three accused

What really happened in Bhima Koregaon

Bhima Koregaon: The Truth

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In fresh developments in the Bhima Koregaon case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has sought permission from the Special NIA Court to hand over the phones of seven activists accused in the Bhima Koregaon case to the an independent expert committee constituted by the Supreme Court to probe the Pegasus scandal.

The seven activists whose phones the NIA wants examined are: Anand Teltumbde, Hany Babu, Rona Wilson, Shoma Sen, Sudha Bharadwaj and Vernon Gonsalves. Of these, only Bharadwaj is out on bail. Meanwhile it was Wilson whose phone was revealed to have been infected with Pegasus as per the findings of Arsenal, a US-based digital forensics firm.

Together these seven people have 26 devices that were seized, first by the Pune Police and then by the NIA, which is why they could not offer the devices to the Committee themselves. Following this, the Committee wrote to the NIA in January seeking the devices to make copies of them and then examine them, reported Bar&Bench. This prompted the NIA to seek the special court’s permission.

The Pegasus scandal has been heating up especially in wake of multiple revelations by Washington Post and New York Times. It was Washington Post that had originally broke the story in December 2021 that an analysis by the Amnesty International’s Security Lab revealed that two backups of an iPhone 6 belonging to Wilson had “digital traces showing infection by the Pegasus surveillance tool”, something that by Pegasus’s own admission was licenced only to vetted governments. The phone backups were shared with the Amnesty team by Arsenal Consulting, a digital forensics firm that had upon request from Wilson’s defence team examined digital copies of his laptop and phones, and revealed that they had been infected by a malware that allowed for planting of false evidence on his devices.

In fact, this was the second time Arsenal had taken a closer look at Rona Wilson’s phone. In February 2021, the digital forensics firm, upon being approached by Wilson’s legal team, had analysed an electronic copy of activist Rona Wilson’s laptop and arrived at the conclusion that an attacker used malware to infiltrate the laptop and place incriminating evidence on it. According to Arsenal’s report, “Rona Wilson’s computer was compromised for just over 22 months.” They also found, “The attacker responsible for compromising Mr. Wilson’s computer had extensive resources (including time) and it is obvious that their primary goals were surveillance and incriminating document delivery.”

But there was another chilling revelation, “Arsenal has connected the same attacker to a significant malware infrastructure which has been deployed over the course of approximately four years to not only attack and compromise Mr. Wilson’s computer for 22 months, but to attack his co-defendants in the Bhima Koregaon case and defendants in other high-profile cases as well.”

On an eerie note, Arsenal conceded, “This is one of the most serious cases involving evidence tampering that Arsenal has ever encountered, based on various metrics which include the vast time span between the delivery of the first and the last incriminating documents.”

The Arsenal report then went on to explain just how the carefully planned malware attack was carried out. Wilson received an email from someone using his fellow activist Varavara Rao’s email account. This person sent Wilson the malware in a document asking him to open it. Wilson thought he was just clicking a dropbox link, but it was just a series of steps by which NetWire was installed on his computer. 

It is noteworthy that in wake of these findings not only Wilson, but another Bhima Koregaon accused Sudha Bharadwaj has demanded that an investigation be conducted to ascertain Arsenal’s claims.

But the NIA dismissed Arsenal’s findings, and instead of probing further, called into question the locus of Arsenal in offering opinion in the Bhima Koregaon case!

Then came the shocker from NYT that exposed earlier this month how the Government of India had purchased the Pegasus software as part of a package included in a $2 billion defence deal with Israel in 2017.

SabrangIndia had reported earlier on how the government of India had given a series of non-answers and engaged in elaborate deflective tactics, all on the pretext of national security concerns ever since the scandal was first reported by French organisation Forbidden Stories in association with several global partners including The Wire in India. Their investigation revealed that the phones and other electronic devices of several Indian politicians, activists and journalists, had been placed under surveillance using the Pegasus spyware. Many of the people on the list voluntarily had their devices tested to get confirmation, following which the story broke and generated public debate and outrage.

In late July and early August 2021, after a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament and a few journalists, all targetted by the spyware moved Supreme Court, the Centre that had been hitherto avoiding making any formal statements, finally made its first official comment on the matter in response to a question raised in Parliament.

The written response provided on August 9, by Ajay Bhatt, Minister of State in the Ministry of Defence, said, “Ministry of Defence has not had any transaction with NSO Group Technologies.” This is significant because NSO, the Israeli manufacturer of the spyware that was used to snoop on as many as 300 Indians including journalists, activists and dissenters, only engages in transactions with “vetted governments”. This is also significant now in wake of NYT’s revelations that the software was bought as part of a package during a defense deal with the government of Israel, which means GoI’s carefully worded submission in the Parliament was nothing but a clever non-denial.

Interestingly, when the Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre in the matter, the Centre actually refused to disclose any information and did not file a detailed affidavit as asked for by the court, citing “national security” concerns. Interestingly, the SC had come down heavily on the government for offering this defence for not making formal submissions in the case.

Related:

Pegasus scandal: Did GoI engage in an elaborate cover-up?

Pegasus scandal: SC stays Justice Lokur Commission probe

Defence Ministry has had no transaction with Pegasus developer NSO Group: Centre in RS

Centre refuses to disclose use of Pegasus in affidavit, pleads national security

Pegasus Project: 5 targeted journalists move SC, say have been subject to intrusive hacking

Pegasus Snoopgate: RS MP, Journalists move SC for court monitored probe   

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CJP has sent a plea to the Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil seeking stringent action against Milind Ekbote, a repeat hate offender and main accused in the Bhima Koregaon riots of January 2018. On January 12, 2022, Ekbote was granted bail in a case of hate speech by a Sessions Court in Pune despite being a repeated offender in hate crimes.

The plea urges the state government to take cognisance of the proposal of chargesheets against him and also to oppose his bail in appeal considering the latest case against him where he has been charged with making speech that incites hate.

The plea also makes mention of the Haridwar ‘Dharam Sansad’ case to emphasise upon why the State needs to take strict action against hate speech and adopt a policy of ‘zero tolerance on hate related crime’. The letter says, “… we are of the view that no incident of hate speech should be let off easily and not in a case where the offender is a person like Ekbote who has been accused of rioting and disturbing public peace in the past and has been on the radar of Pune Police for a long time.”

The recent case of hate speech against Ekbote took place on December 19 at a program held at Natubag maidan, Pune, to mark the occasion of the killing of Afzal Khan by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, where Ekbote made hate inciting and hurtful statements against Muslims and Christians.

The letter states in detail the case made out against Ekbote in the Bhima Koregaon riots case where two FIRs were filed against him, and even though he was arrested, was eventually granted bail by a Pune court. The plea also makes mention of a secret report of the Pune Police which stated that Smabhaji Bhide and Ekbote allegedly roped in Hindutva ultras to create unrest. The document further states that Milind and Ekbote’s men also posted about the violence on social media and were aware about the clashes since 16 December 2017.

The plea further details the many cases pending against Ekbote and the action pending in each of them to enable the state government to take urgent action against Ekbote who is a hardened criminal, and one who has committed repeated crimes without criminal action of much consequence against him. Ekbote has 12 cases of rioting, trespassing, criminal intimidation, and attempts to spread enmity between two communities against him and has been convicted in 5 of these cases.

“Looking at the antecedents of Ekbote and his history of acting against the law, no court should be granting him bail ideally. Moreover, it is important that now that the court has granted him interim bail, the matter is pursued vigorously by the State (including the prosecutors and investigating officers) to ensure that Ekbote is put behind bars at the earliest which will not only serve as an example that the state of Maharashtra is serious in tackling cases of hate speech unlike other BJP-ruled states but also to prove as a deterrent for all those self-proclaimed right-wing leaders who think they are above the law,” states the letter.

CJP urges the Home Minister “to expedite the proposal for filing chargesheet against Ekbote in an FIR related to the Bhima Koregaon riots case which has been received from Pune Police in January 2021 and was submitted to then Home Minister Shri Anil Deshmukh who confirmed the same to the news media. We also urge the state government to take serious cognizance of the fact that a repeat offender like Ekbote has been granted bail time and again and is roaming free despite having been accused of serious crimes like rioting and hate speech.”

The letter to the Home Minister may be read here:

Related:

Your silence is deeply worrying: IIT alumni write to PM
PM Modi not speaking up against calls for genocide of Muslims: Amnesty International, Genocide Watch
All of you will die, your children too: Narsinghanand tells Haridwar cops as they arrest Jitendra Tyagi

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The family members of the accused undertrials in the Bhima Koregaon violence case, have written to the Additional Director General of Police (Prisons) and Special Inspector General of Police (Prisons) to continue the weekly phone calls with them.

The letter has been signed by Vimal Jagtap, Koel Sen, Maisha Bharadwaj, Jenny Rowena, Surekha Gorakhe, Pranali Pranab, Minal Gadling, Rama Ambedkar, Sahba Hussain, Sharad Gaikwad, Monali Raut, Susan Abraham, Jennifer Coutinho and Roy Wilson.

The family members were recently informed that the weekly calls allowed to the inmates of Taloja and Byculla prisons will be discontinued since the prisons are all set to resume physical mulaqats. They have alleged that this will cause problems to the inmates whose relatives don’t live in Mumbai and it will be extremely difficult for out-stationed family members to travel to Mumbai to physically meet them.

Their letter reads, “Similarly, economically weak relatives of many of the inmates will also not be able to afford the travel to the prisons, which would include the use and hiring of private vehicles. Older relatives of inmates will also find it extremely difficult to come to Mumbai from distant places.”

They have also shared the plight of members who are now old and have to wait for long hours in a queue to meet the inmates, which is a tedious and taxing process. In the letter they have also stated that there are many telephones installed in the jails and a system for the purpose of bi-weekly phone interviews is in place, and hence should continue to function for everyone’s convenience. They have said that the option should be given to relatives of the undertrials living in Mumbai to either go to jail for visits or to continue the telephone interviews.

They have also given examples of jails in Gujarat, Jharkhand, Tihar in Delhi, that have continued with the hybrid system. It also states that Sunil Ramanand (DG Prisons) during a visit to Taloja jail some months ago, had promised some Taloja jail inmates that phone interviews would continue even after resumption of physical visits. Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, the Attorney General, had been appraised of the same by senior advocate Mihir Desai, who was the amicus curiae in the suo motu matter regarding prisons, taken up by the Bombay high court.

All family members have requested the prison authorities to “continue with the phone mulaqat system, which has been working well so far and which would allow the inmates to continue communicating with their relatives for those whom it will not be possible to travel to Mumbai for the purpose of family mulaqats with the prisoners in Mumbai jails.”

In related news, senior journalist 70-year-old Gautam Navlakha’s health has allegedly worsened after being shifted to the Anda circle, the high security barrack of Taloja on October 12, as per his partner Sahba Hussain. In a statement issued by her, she said that phone calls have been discontinued and since she is above 70 years of age, traveling to Navi Mumbai frequently is difficult for her.

Well-known journalist and writer Gautam Navlakha has been languishing in Taloja jail, part of the 16 accused in the totally trumped up UAPA #bhimakoregaon case. Now he is denied telephone calls. As his partner asks, to what extent will authorities go to break his spirit? pic.twitter.com/fLMghfP3Aj

— geeta seshu (@geetaseshu) October 24, 2021

She has said, “Apart from the calls to me, regular access to lawyers through phone calls is an essential facility for undertrial prisoners. To deprive any undertrial prisoner of this effective and efficient mode of securing legal advice and help, or access to family, is the height of unfairness”.

Further, she said Navlakha’s fragile health and wellbeing will be further jeopardised by this withdrawal of phone calls to his family and lawyers. Navlakha is also not able to take the daily walks that he used to earlier.

In a letter to his partner Sahba, he had allegedly written, “Confinement in Anda Circle means denial of fresh air/oxygen as there is not a single tree or plant in the open space of the Circle. And we are forbidden to step outside of the Anda Circle…. In other words, we spend 16 hours out of 24 cooped inside our cell and the 8 hours we are let out we are confined to a corridor 71/2’ x 72’ for our daily walk on a cemented floor surrounded by high walls all around.”

Navlakha, who has been in jail since April 14, 2020, was denied default bail in May this year by the top court. Sahba has finally written, “Gautam has faced his unjustified incarceration with courage and spirit. How much longer is he going to be persecuted for his views, and to what extent will the authorities go to break his spirit?” Navlakha has also moved the high court seeking house arrest.

The letter written by the family members has also been sent to the Home Minister of Maharashtra, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court and Sharad Khatavkar (DIG Prisons, Pune).

The letter may be read here: 

Related:

Only ‘objectionable’ letters of Bhima Koregaon accused are being withheld by prison authorities: NIA to Bombay HC
Bhima Koregaon: Prisoners accuse ex-jail superintendent of ‘political censorship’
Bhima Koregaon case: NIA files draft charges under UAPA, sedition & conspiracy against 15 accused

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