Justices A S Gadkari and S G Dighe, Bombay High Court, December 19
(Paragraph 19, page 33)

The court’s assessment in the Gautam Navlakha bail hearing highlighted the lack of substantial material linking Navlakha to terrorist activities. It emphasized that his alleged membership with CPI (Maoist) could, at most, implicate him under sections 13 and 38 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, carrying a maximum punishment of ten years. Statements and documents referencing Navlakha were considered hearsay, lacking probative value. While granting bail however, the court stayed the order for three weeks, allowing the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The high court questioned the NIA’s attempt to establish Navlakha’s association with terrorist activities through recovered documents and communications, citing an absence of conclusive evidence linking him to any terrorist acts. It also rejected claims of Navlakha’s connection with Pakistan’s ISI, attributing a letter he wrote seeking clemency to individual action rather than organizational ties.

The court also remarked that the documents, which have not been recovered from Navlakha but mention his name, have “weak probative value or quality”. “The content of these letters/documents through which the appellant is sought to be implicated are in the form of hearsay evidence, as they are recovered from co-accused,” it said. “The actual involvement of the appellant in any terrorist act cannot be even inferred from any of the communications and or statements of the witnesses. According to us, there is no material to infer conspiracy to commit an offence as contemplated under Chapter IV of the UAPA (terrorist activities),” the HC said. (Paragraph 17, page 32 of the Judgement)

Navlakha has, until this judgement was delivered, spent three years in jail, with the trial court yet to frame charges, casting doubt on the possibility of a near-future trial conclusion. The case originated from the alleged inflammatory speeches at the Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune in 2017, purportedly instigating violence near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial. Navlakha is the seventh accused granted bail in this case. Navlakha was not present at the occasion.

“…the Appellant is in pre-trial incarceration for more than three years and eight months. The charge-sheet consists of about 20,000 pages in 54 Volumes and the prosecution has cited 370 witnesses in it. The learned Judge of 

the trial Court has submitted a report dated 18th September, 2022 stating that, it will require more than a year to frame charge. As a matter of fact, till date the trial Court has not framed charge. The possibility of trial of the Appellant being concluded in near future is very bleak,” the order states. (Paragraph 26, page 36)

After Despite earlier refusals of medical bail, Navlakha’s second appeal in the high court sought regular bail, contesting the special court’s opaque reasoning. The case involves a chargesheet exceeding 5,000 pages and aims to cross-examine around 200 witnesses. Out of the 16 accused, 11 remain incarcerated for up to five years without trial, while five have secured bail. Navlakha and another accused, Raut, await a Supreme Court decision regarding their bail status.

Tragically, tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy passed away in judicial custody in July 2021 due to Covid complications while awaiting bail on medical grounds. 

The court’s bail verdict hinged on the lack of substantial evidence linking Navlakha to terrorist activities, casting doubt on his alleged involvement and affirming the need for conclusive proof before implicating an individual.

Legal Nuances

The judgment meticulously navigates the legal intricacies surrounding bail provisions under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), notably the application of Sections 13 and 38 of the UAP Act concerning Navlakha’s alleged association with CPI (M). It emphasizes the distinction between mere membership in a political party and involvement in specific unlawful activities, critically analysing the evidence against Navlakha. It questions the sufficiency of evidence linking Navlakha to specific unlawful activities, highlighting the importance of establishing prima facie evidence for charges under these acts.

“Therefore, in the present case, the said documents which have been recovered from the appellant (Navlakha) such as Agenda or Constitution of the Party or other related documents, which allegedly propagated violence, would not attract the provisions of section 15 of the UAPA (terrorist act),” the court said. (Paragraph 15, page 31)

The case hinges on the interpretation of seized documents, witness statements, and Navlakha’s alleged association with banned groups. It reflects the challenge of discerning evidential relevance and credibility while balancing individual rights against state interests. The nuanced legal landscape necessitates a comprehensive understanding of how evidence, especially seized documents, is interpreted within the context of the law. The legal complexity lies in understanding the nexus between Navlakha’s alleged involvements in the event and the subsequent violence. There’s a need to assess the evidentiary value of the materials presented and whether they directly implicate Navlakha. 

The case necessitates both a nuanced examination of intention and execution of the alleged crime. While the prosecution attempted to tether Navlakha to the Elgar Parishad event, scrutinising the execution of his alleged actions became pivotal. The crux lay in discerning whether Navlakha’s purported association was an act of dissent or part of a larger orchestrated design leading to violence.

Assessment of Constitutional Rights

One of the most crucial aspects is the court’s stance on constitutional rights vis-à-vis statutory restrictions. The judgment emphasises the need to balance the state’s legislative policy against granting bail with the individual’s fundamental rights, invoking questions about the sanctity of activism and the overreach of state machinery. It also points out particularly the right to a speedy trial, a facet enshrined in the Constitution. 

Human Rights and Activism

From a human rights standpoint, the case underscores the vulnerability of activists to prolonged detention and the implications of their lawful dissent being misconstrued as unlawful activities. Navlakha’s case demanded a meticulous dissection of the evidential jigsaw puzzle, attempting to substantiate his alleged actions within the charged events. The judgment highlights the chilling effect such arrests can have on freedom of speech and dissent, raising pertinent questions about the safeguarding of these rights. The central thematic issues encompassed the rights of activists, the boundaries of dissent, and the state’s obligation to protect civil liberties while ensuring national security.

Central Observations of the Court

The court finds insufficient grounds to prima facie support accusations under certain sections of the UAP Act against Navlakha. 

With respect to the documents wherein the name simply referred to as ‘Gautam’ is concerned the bench said that,

“..there is another person by name Gautam @ Kosa @ Gopanna @ Sadha, who is the Central Committee Member of the CPI (M) and therefore it cannot be safely inferred that, it is the Appellant only who has been referred to in those documents. According to us, the identity of the Appellant being the same person ‘Gautam’ is in doubt as far as those documents are concerned. At this stage prima facie we cannot presume that, ‘Gautam’ is the same person as the identity of the said ‘Gautam’ is yet to be established beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution,” the order states. (Paragraph 16, page 31)

Delay in Trials and Pre-trial Incarceration

The analysis also delves into the issue of delayed trials and pre-trial incarceration. The extended duration of Navlakha’s detention without a framed charge sheet or conclusive trial points to systemic inefficiencies and the impact of such delays on an individual’s right to a speedy trial. The emphasis on considering delay in trials as a factor for bail provisions sets a noteworthy precedent, urging courts to weigh individual rights against statutory restrictions in similar instances.

Social and Political Implications

This judgment reverberates beyond legal boundaries, sparking conversations about the state’s treatment of dissent and the broader socio-political landscape. It draws attention to the thin line between legitimate activism and allegations of unlawful activities, influencing public discourse on civil liberties. 

“Even though in the said documents, the authors of it have expressed their intention to cause fatality to the politically influential persons or to cause tremendous disturbance in the Society at large, the Appellant only being a member of the party cannot be prima facie held to be a co-conspirator to it. From the material on record, it appears to us that, no covert or overt terrorist act has been attributed to the Appellant,” the order states. (Paragraph 18, page 33)

The case symbolises the ongoing struggle for justice and rights within the democratic fabric of India.

Reformative Measures

Gautam Navlakha’s case is a microcosm of the intersection between legal, ethical, and societal concerns, challenging the judiciary, the state, and civil society to introspect and strive for a more balanced, rights-centric approach in handling cases involving activists and dissent. 

“We are of the prima facie opinion that on the basis of the material placed before us by the NIA, it cannot be said that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against the appellant is prima facie true,” the judgement said. (Paragraph 23, page 35)

The judgment’s ramifications reverberated on two fronts—positively highlighting the sanctity of constitutional rights while cautioning against potential precedents curtailing dissent. Its influence extended beyond courtrooms, impacting legal realms, and advocacy efforts, spotlighting the challenges faced by activists and the paramount need to safeguard fundamental rights. In subsequent legal proceedings and human rights advocacy, the judgment remains pivotal. It likely contributes to ongoing discussions on maintaining the delicate balance between protecting civil liberties and addressing national security concerns. Its impact reverberates across diverse platforms, influencing debates, legal arguments, and advocacy strategies aimed at upholding democratic principles. Gautam Navlakha’s case symbolizes the struggle between individual rights and state interests, resonating strongly within the realm of human rights and legal jurisprudence. The judgment, while granting bail, underscores the need to uphold constitutional principles, ensuring timely trials and safeguarding fundamental liberties.

The entire copy of the judgement may be read here.

Related:

Elgar Parishad case: Bombay HC rejects default bail to Gautam Navlakha

Bombay High Court reserves order in Gautam Navlakha’s bail plea 

Default bail period to commence only from remand date: Bombay HC in Gautam Navlakha Bail case

The post Unjust detention: Gautam Navlakha’s bail victory highlights insufficient evidence appeared first on SabrangIndia.

“Allegations are serious but that does not mean bail cannot be granted. While forming our opinion of granting bail, we noted that he was earlier convicted of offences under 1967 Act. Hence, we propose to impose appropriate conditions while on bail. We set aside impugned order and release the appellant on bail,” the Court directed, as provided by the LiveLaw.

Justice Bose also took into consideration that Gonsalves and Ferreira have been in custody for more than five years. Gonsalves and Ferreira have been lodged in Mumbai’s Taloja jail since 2018.

As conditions for the bail, the court ordered that Gonsalves and Ferreira will not be allowed to leave Maharashtra till the trial in the case is over. The two activists will also have to surrender their passports. They have also been directed to use one mobile each and let the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the case, know their addresses, according to Live Law.

“They can have only one mobile connection during the period,” the court said added. “Their mobile phones should be charged round the clock and the location must be kept on and shared with the NIA [National Investigation Agency] officer for live-tracking. They shall also report to the investigating officer once a week,” as provided by the LiveLaw.

The bench further stated that if there is any breach of conditions, it will be open to the prosecution to seek cancellation of bail. Furthermore, if any attempt is made to threaten witnesses, the prosecution can move court to cancel bail, the Supreme Court added.

Notably, Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia had reserved the judgment in the current case on March 3, 2023.

 Background of the case:

Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira were among the sixteen activists, academics and lawyers who had been arrested in relation to the caste violence that broke out on January 1, 2018, in Bhima Koregaon village near Pune. The police had purported that the accused persons were involved in organising the Elgar Parishad event on December 31, 2017, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battle of Bhima Koregaon. The police had also alleged that inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave had reportedly triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.

They have been jailed under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act since the past five years, reportedly without any reliable evidence. The sixteen arrested persons had also been accused of conspiring to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi and of having links with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).

In May 2022, Gonsalves and Ferreira, along with six others, had moved the Supreme Court, filing pleas against Bombay High Court’s December 2021 judgment refusing them default bail. Notably, on December 1, 2021, eight accused persons in the case had been refused bail by the High Court, while another co-accused Sudha Bharadwaj was granted bail. The High Court had distinguished Bharadwaj’s plea from the other eight and noted that Bharadwaj’s application for default bail was pending when an application was made by the Pune Police seeking an extension of time to file the charge sheet.

The eight of whom were denied bail had once again petitioned the Bombay High Court contending that there was an error in the December 2021 judgment and consequently, prayed that they be granted bail. However, on May 4, 2022, the High Court had rejected that plea too, stating that there was no factual error in the December 2021 judgment as claimed.

This had led to the current appeal for bail before the Supreme Court.

Notably, in August 2022, the Supreme Court asked the special NIA court to decide on framing of charges against Gonsalves within 3 months, while refusing to grant any interim relief at the time. Gonsalves’ bail plea was, however, kept pending before the top court. The Court had directed the special court to segregate Gonsalves’ trial from that of the other accused who are absconding.

Related:

Bail order cannot be cryptic and casual, needs to be backed by reasons considering vital aspects: Supreme Court

INDIA versus Bharat’ or ‘India that is Bharat’?

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

Bhima Koregaon case: Prof Anand Teltumbde granted bail on merits by Bom HC

Bhima Koregaon case: Justice S Ravindra Bhat recuses himself from hearing Gautam Navlakha’s plea seeking house arrest

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

Bhima Koregaon case: SC grants Varavara Rao bail on medical grounds

Bhima Koregaon case: Supreme Court extends Varavara Rao’s interim bail until further orders

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

The post Bail to Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira after 5 years of incarceration! appeared first on SabrangIndia.

It was the site outside the Brahmanical city of Pune, the capital of the cruel Peshwai empire[1], at Koregaon, that Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, as a young lawyer battling caste discrimination, visited in 1927. Since then, come January 1, every year, over 90 years, and hundreds of thousands of Dalit-Bahujans come here in collective celebration of a battle against the most oppressive kind of evil and discrimination. In 2018, this figure touched 1.5 million. Violence has never broken out here until January 1, 2018, the second centennial (200th) year when at Sanaswadi, Koregaon, it did. Violence provoked by supremacists and hate-mongers like Milind Ekbote and Shambhaji Bhide according to a Pune police FIR of January 2 that year.

History is complex and has layers not adequately nuanced in ‘mainstream’ or ‘left-liberal’ texts, which is why, even in Maharsahtra, social science texts omit any reference to this battle or its commemoration. Popular accounts of the Jan 1, 1918 battle celebrate the fact of how that an army of just about 823 –consisting of 500 from the British’s Mahar regiment and 12 officers defeated a 28,000 strong Peshwa side! To see this is as an Anglo-Maratha war when in fact it was a battle between the Peshwas and the British is the first step to getting it wrong. For the Mahars (Dalits) this was opportunity enough to establish victory over their brutalisation. Interestingly, the War Memorial has been standing at that place for the last 200 years with the Martyr’s names inscribed on it: this consists not only the names of the soldiers from the Mahar Community, but a few Maratha and Other Backward Caste (OBC) soldier’s names are also visible alongside.

There is more from centuries ago. A mausoleum dedicated to Chhatrapati Shambhaji is situated a few kilometres away in the Dalit locality of village, Wadoo (Budrak) discovered by the renowned historian VC Bendre: Sambhaji, the then scholar of Sanskrit became an eyesore for Brahmins as he mastered the language; they solicited and gained the assistance of Aurangzeb to punish him with brute methods, denying him dignified cremation. It was only one Govind Mahar who valiantly defied the fatwa and cremated him. This too is an inspirational site of history. (Fact-finding report on the Bhima Koregaon Violence by the Rashtriya Seva Dal can be read here)

Fast forward to two hundred years later, an India and Maharashtra ruled by what could be interpreted by a section at least, of political descendants of the Peshwas: modern day proponents of a militarised Hindu nation, Hindu rashtra. The regimes in Delhi and Mumbai were clearly threatened by the organisation of the Elgar Parishad on December 31, 2017, a day before the annual celebration at Koregaon. Not only did the organisers, two Judges –one formerly of the Supreme Court of India, Justice PB Sawant and the other, BG Kolse Patil (previously of the Bombay High Court)- organised the event, bringing together 260 plus Dalit organisations. The participation was widespread, a unifying challenge to an oppressive regime in place since 2014. Over 30-35,000 persons attended. Dozens of pre-event conferences Elgar conferences were organised and much of this ensured the record participation both on December 31, 2017 and January 1, 2018 at Bhima Koregaon.

“‘Elgaar’ means loud invitation or loud declaration, and our main theme was to save the Constitution and the nation,” Justice Sawant had told Citizens for Justice and Peace (cjp.org.in) in an exclusive interview (August 31, 2018) after history had been manipulated and a series of arrests around this began in June 2018. He could not eventually attend the meeting at Shaniwarwada because of ill-health. “The right-wing forces do not accept our present Constitution. They believe neither in democracy, nor socialism nor secularism,” he had said. Sawant and Kolse-Patil strategically selected December 31 as the day for the Parishad, because lakhs of Dalit citizens from across the country were set to gather at Bhima Koregaon near Pune the next day, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of an 1818 battle in which a British army with a continent of Mahars defeated the much stronger forces of the Peshwas, a regime noted for their casteist policies.

The overwhelming success of the Elgar Parishad meet could obviously not be stomached by the rulers that be. The next day, when hundreds of thousands assembled outside Pune, violence broke out for the first time and perpetrators were seen and documented as being those belonging to supremacist outfits. (Watch this Video here)

Videos that came in from Koregaon within minutes of the targeted violence breaking out on January 1, 2018 show that goons clad in saffron shirts and sporting saffron flags pelting stones on the gathering of Dalit-Bahujan activists, including women and children, also setting their cars and buses on fire. One person was even killed and the outbreak of targeted violence on a peaceful gathering of Dalit-Bahujans in January 2018 leading to RPI leader, Prakash Ambedkar calling for a Maharashtra-wide bandh. Immediately on the outbreak of violence unleashed by those with allegiance to a supremacist politics, the name of Milind Ramakant Ekbote surfaced along with another, Shambhaji Bhide. Ironically, on January 2, 2018, the Pune police filed an FIR against right wing activist Sambhaji Bhide and the founder ultra-right wing group Shiv Pratap Bhoomi Mukti Andolan Milind Ekbote accusing them of instigating violence in Shaniwarwada that led to attacks on Dalits. Not only has this sequence of violence been forgotten, as a result the actual perpetrators of the violence on Dalits and Bahujans has been swept aside as a fake history of conspiracy and attack unleashed.

Since June 2018 when the first arrests of Professor Shoma Sen and seven others including Surendra Gadling and Roma Wilson took place, rationality and actual investigation has been ignored in favour of a politically motivated witch-hunt.

Who is Milind Ekbote? Read here. This hate-spewing supremacist surfaced once again after a period of relative silence—17 years to be precise– on January 1, 2018 when the violence unleashed against peaceful Dalits assembled at Bhima Koregaon to commemorate 200 years of the battle, was reportedly provoked by the machinations of extremists of the Hindutva brigade. Ironically, a month later, in February 2018, the Supreme Court criticised the Maharashtra state government and probe agencies for the slow progress in their probe against Milind Ekbote, questioning the agencies’ claims that he was allegedly ‘untraceable’. At the time the BJP’s Devendra Phadnavis was Maharashtra Chief Minister and the Shiv Sena, an alliance partner.

Within weeks of the first FIR dated January 2, 2018, in the month of January itself, a Pune-based businessman with controversial leanings filed a First Information Report (FIR) blaming revolutionary speeches made at the Elgaar Parishad for the January 1 Bhima Koregaon violence, in which one person was killed. Youth leader and MLA from Gujarat, Jignesh Mevani and student leader, Umar Khalid approached the Bombay High Court for quashing the FIRs filed against them. Details can be read here.

On April 22, 2018, one of the key witnesses of the violence, a 19-year-old Dalit woman who had lost her house in the violence was found dead in a well. Her family alleged that she was being pressured to withdraw her statements in the case.

Months after, the Pune police had raided the homes of several human rights activists across the country. Before the nationwide raids, in June 2018, Pune Police arrested several activists including Dalit activist and co-organiser of the Elgar Parishad event Sudhir Dhawale, senior advocate, Surendra Gadling, Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen, human rights activist Rona Wilson under UAPA. They were accused of being co-conspirators of the Bhima-Koregaon violence. They were accused of smuggling weapons and funding maoist activities. The Pune Police also alleged that they found electronic evidence which showed that they were involved in a plot to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi and wage a war against the country. A majority of those targeted had neither been either at the Elgar Parishad in Pune, nor the Bhima Korehaon commemoration a day later. By now the Pune police had decided to bury its own FIR against Ekbote and Bhide dated Janurary 2, 2018.

Two months later after the first arrests, on August 28, 2018 the police carried out another set of arrests simultaneously in several parts of the country alleging a Maoist link to and arrested activists, intellectuals Sudha Bharadwaj, Gautam Navlakha, Arun Ferreira, Varavara Rao, and Vernon Gonsalves. The ding-dong, push and pull within the Courts began.

On August 29, 2018, four eminent personalities — Romila Thapar, Prabhat Patnaik, Satish Deshpande, and Maya Darnall — moved SC seeking the release of those arrested. That is when house arrest was ordered until September 6, 2018, then extended to September 12, then September 19. Widespread anger and protest against these moves, and the brazen attempt to suppress dissent led the then Maharashtra government to tell the Supreme Court on September 5, that the arrests were not because of political dissent but because of alleged links to Maoists.

Finally, after a hotly contested legal battle, the State with its concocted theory of a conspiracy won when, a month after the arrests, on September 28, 2018, the SC bench refused to interfere with the arrests of the activists and declined to appoint a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate. Individual activists, lawyers, writers were arrested at different points in the next few months and years.

In November 2019, after the state assembly elections, the government changed in Maharashtra, and now the Shiv Sena formed part of the ruling alliance with the Congress and the NCP. Within two months, on January 24, 2020, the investigation into the Elgar Parishad case was taken over by the NIA. In October 2020, the NIA filed a voluminous, 10,000+ page charge sheet with fresh names. Father Stan Swamy was named in the charge sheet at this stage as an accused (though he had been raided in 2018) who tried to bring together Dalit and Muslim forces to ‘bring down the fascist governemnt at the centre’ and arrested under charges of UAPA and sedition. The police also accused him of having Maoist links. 

Consistently, Justices PB Sawant and Kolse-Patil have believed that behind this case lies a frame up by the regime, indeed a conspiracy – but one that is directed by the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government that is attempting to silence its critics by arresting activists who have spoken out against the excesses of the state. “Most of the activists arrested in the case had absolutely nothing to do with the Elgaar Parishad,” said Kolse-Patil, who claims he did not even know most of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case before they were arrested, adding, “But yes, we openly tell people we are Leftist, and those who have been arrested more or less share our ideology. They are rational thinkers.” Justice Sawant had then explained in this interview to us why they believe the Bhima Koregaon arrests are the government’s way of clamping down on all opposition. Watch the interview here.

The sinister twist in this tortuous tale does not end here. Explosive investigations by a US-based digital forensics firm, Arsenal, first came to light in February 2021. They reveal evidence of malware planted in the computer of Rona Wilson. Arsenal’s report, widely publicised states, “Mr. Wilson’s computer had extensive resources (including time) and it is obvious that their primary goals were surveillance and incriminating document delivery.” 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 concedes, “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.” That was February 2021.

Now today, July 6, 2021 after the institutional murder of Father Stan Swamy, Arsenal has now similar evidence of malware being planted to manipulate evidence in the computer of advocate Surendra Gadling. Indian authorities have been brazening it out. NIA does not feel compelled to test Arsenal’s claims. So far, the Courts have not ordered the agency to do so.

The failure to get to the roots of this case now, by the Courts, will further perpetuate the injustice perpetrated on the falsely accused 16 in the Bhima Koregaon case. One precious life has been lost. Father Stan Swamy’s and the iconic fold is now BK-15. India’s crumbling criminal justice system begs an immediate recognition, and correction of the perpetrated failures in this case. Or it may indeed be too late.

Related:

The institutional murder of Father Stan Swamy
Bhima Koregaon case: NIA attempts to dismiss Arsenal’s findings about Rona Wilson’s laptop
Former Professor Shoma Sen moves Bombay HC against UAPA charges

The post Bhima Koregaon: The Truth appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
Who were the organisers of the Elgaar Parishad event in Pune on December 31, 2017, the day before violence aagainst Dalits erupted at Bhima Koregaon nearby?

A belated version of the Pune police, constructs the event as organised by members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), with the aim of “spreading rebellious thoughts”, instigating violence at Bhima Koregaon and establishing a nationwide “anti-fascist front” to “wage war against the government”.

The Convenors of the Elgar Parishad two reputed judges in Pune, retired Justices BG Kolse-Patil and PB Sawant, say otherwise. They themselves were the “main organisers and sole funders” of the Elgaar Parishad. “We have openly been saying this from the beginning,” said Kolse-Patil, who retired from his post as a Bombay High Court judge in 1990 in order to work as an activist against extremism. “We organised Elgaar Parishad with the simple motive of spreading the message of fighting communal forces.”

Since January, when a Pune-based businessman with questionable leanings filed a First Information Report blaming revolutionary speeches made at the Elgaar Parishad for the January 1 Bhima Koregaon violence, in which one person was killed, the Pune police has raided the homes of several human rights activists across the country. Ten of the activists have been arrested, including VV Rao, Gautam Navlakha, Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves, who were arrested on August 28. The police has accused all of them of being “active members” of the banned Communist Party of India(Maoist) and has even claimed that they were involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Justices Sawant and Kolse-Patil also believe there is a conspiracy – but one that is directed by the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party government that is attempting to silence its critics by arresting activists who have spoken out against the excesses of the state.
“Most of the activists arrested in the case had absolutely nothing to do with the Elgaar Parishad,” said Kolse-Patil, who claims he did not even know most of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case before they were arrested. “But yes, we openly tell people we are leftist, and those who have been arrested more or less share our ideology. They are rational thinkers.”

Speaking to cjp.org.in on Friday, August 31, Justice Sawant explained why they believe the Bhima Koregaon arrests are the government’s way of clamping down on all opposition.

‘Our theme was to save the Constitution’
Justice Sawant retired as a Supreme Court judge in 1995, after which he has been involved with social activism. He was among three retired judges who independently investigated the 2002 Gujarat riots, and their report severely criticised Narendra Modi, then the Gujarat chief minister.
Since then, said Kolse-Patil, he and Sawant have been working consistently against Hindutva forces in India. “This is the background behind why this government does not like what we do,” said Kolse-Patil.

The Elgaar Parishad, he has told us, was not the first time that the two of them had organised an event against communalism and Hindutva. “We had organised a similar event in October 2015, at the same venue of Shaniwar Wada in Pune,” said Kolse-Patil. The programme was called RSS-mukt Bharat, or RSS-free India, a reference to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which is the parent body of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

With violence by Hindutva groups on the rise – particularly by cow vigilantes – the retired judges felt the need to organise another large-scale event to promote their message. They chose the name Elgaar Parishad.

“‘Elgaar’ means loud invitation or loud declaration, and our main theme was to save the Constitution and the nation,” said Sawant, who could not eventually attend the meeting because of ill-health. “The right-wing forces do not accept our present Constitution. They believe neither in democracy, nor socialism nor secularism.”

Sawant and Kolse-Patil strategically selected December 31 as the day for the Parishad, because lakhs of Dalit citizens from across the country were set to gather at Bhima Koregaon near Pune the next day, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of an 1818 battle in which a British army with a continent of Mahars defeated the much stronger forces of the Peshwas, a regime noted for their casteist policies.

“Since people of a similar ideology were going to attend Bhima Koregaon, we approached Kabir Kala Manch [cultural organisation], [writer] Sudhir Dhawale and a few other organisations to mobilise people to come for Elgaar Parishad,” said Kolse-Patil. Eventually, a coalition of 260 organisations worked to put the event together. In addition to Kolse-Patil and Sudhir Dhawale, the Elgaar Parishad featured speeches by politicians Prakash Ambedkar and Jignesh Mevani, and Dalit rights activist Radhika Vemula.

Justice Kolse-Patil had been a defence lawyer as well as a public prosecutor before he became a High Court judge. He retired at the age of 47, and for the past 28 years he has been campaigning for various people’s movements, particularly for the marginalised.
 

‘Emergency by Another Name’

The retired judges believe that by linking the Elgar Parishad to a Maoist conspiracy and blaming it for the Bhima Koregaon violence, the BJP-led government is trying to silence voices that are critical of Hindutva.

“All those who criticise or oppose the present regime have to be silenced, which can be done by manoeuvring their arrests,” said Sawant. “All this is being done in preparation for the 2019 [Lok Sabha] election. I do not see any other motive behind this.”

Concurring with writer-activist Arundhati Roy, who described the spate of arrests as being “as close to a declaration of Emergency as we will ever get”, Sawant called the arrests a “backdoor Emergency”.

“At least Indira Gandhi declared an Emergency as per the provisions of the law,” he said. “This government cannot do it because they were the strongest critics of the Emergency at that time.”

Criticising right-wing groups for the incidents of cow-related violence across the country, Sawant added, “What is happening today is worse, because people – particularly minorities and Dalits – are being killed. Hindutva groups are at large, committing any number of grave offences, and yet they are not arrested. This shows the complicity of the state.”

As an example, Kolse-Patil pointed to the way in which the arrest of the human rights activists had served to divert public attention from the cases filed against Hindutva leaders Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide, who have been accused of triggering the Bhima Koregaon violence through inflammatory speeches allegedly made in December 2017. Despite a Supreme Court order demanding their arrest, neither has been detained.

“Ekbote and Bhide have been spreading poison for years, but the government wants to divert attention towards Maoism,” said Kolse-Patil.

As organisers of the Elgaar Parishad, Kolse-Patil and Sawant say they are mentally prepared for being raided or arrested by the police. But Sawant claims there is a reason why this has not happened so far. “They have not gone after us because they know it will not sustain their current charge that this event was organised by Maoists,” he said.

For Sawant, one of the biggest ironies in the Pune police’s allegations that the arrested activists were conspiring to form an “anti-fascist front” to destabilise the government and overthrow the sovereignty of India. “This shows that they actually want fascist forces to reign in the country,” he said.

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Several arrests under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) were carried out by the Maharashtra police today. At about 6 am today, June 6, the Pune police arrested advocate Surendra Gadling, professor Shoma Sen, head of department of English, Nagpur University and general secretary, Indian Association of People’s Lawyers from Nagpur, Sudhir Dhawale, Editor Vidrohi from Mumbai, Rona Wilson, Public Relations Secretary Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners and Mahesh Raut, anti-displacement activist from Bharat Jan Andolan and former Fellow at Prime Minister’s Rural Development (PMRD) for Gadchiroli District.

These arrests and searches have been purportedly made under the FIR registered on January 8, 2018 at Vishram Baug Police Station, Pune with regard to the holding of the Elgar Parishad on 31st December, 2017 by the Bhima-Koregaon Shaurya Din Prerna Abhiyan. This FIR, originally registered u/s 153(A), 505 (1)(b), 117 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), was converted to a conspiracy case in March 2018 and now has had sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) added to it. The arrests today have thus been made under UAPA, which has several draconian provisions which ensure long detention and makes it difficult to obtain bail.

These arrests are in the face of the mass demand of several political parties and human rights organizations and activists and the Prerna Abhiyan in particular to arrest the leaders of supremacist organisations linked or connected to the sangh parivar, for example, in particular, Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote. Bhide and Ekbote were allegedly responsible for the violence on January 1, 2018 violence at Bhima-Koregaon. The Phadnavis government, which has been accused of protecting these actual perpetrators of the violence, has been attempting to twist the narrative around the New Year Day violence at Bhima Koregaon. Video footage clearly shows an undermanned peaceful assembly of Dalits being set upon and attacked by persons donning saffron attire. Within weeks and after largescale arrests of young Dalits all over the state, the state government has attempted to shift blame on the Elgar Parishad that had called for the historic commemoration. Further, the government tried to argue that ‘banned Maoist organisations are supporting the Prerna Abhiyan.’

In a detailed press note issued by Dr Anand Teltumde, general secretary of the Committee to Protect Democratic Rights (CPDR) has stated that the Bhima-Koregaon Shaurya Din Prerna Abhiyan is a coalition of around 260 mass organizations under the Chairmanship of Retired Supreme Court Justice P B Sawant and includes prominent political figures like Adv Prakash Ambedkar, leader of the Bahujan Republican Party (Bharip) and Justice Kolse-Patil (Retd).

In commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima-Koregaon that vanquished Peshwa rule, the Abhiyan had organized a mass meeting on December 31, 2017 at the historic Shaniwar wada in Pune, with several prominent speakers like Retired High Court Justice Kolse Patil, Adv Prakash Ambedkar, Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani and others being present. The Elgar Parishad was organised with the stated objective of fighting the Nav-peshwahi (New Forms of Peshwai Raj). The program was hugely successful and attended by thousands from across the state.

However on the following day, those commemorating the event at Bhima-Koregaon were attacked by a mob carrying saffron flags, allegedly instigated by Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote. These two extreme right wing activists are known to have close connections with the ruling BJP. CPDR alleges that this attack was part of a pre-meditated plan.

Today’s early morning sweep down, it is alleged, has been stage-managed by the Maharashtra government keeping in mind the judicial enquiry headed by Justice J N Patel (Retd). The state government was compelled to institute a judicial inquiry as protests against the repression spiralled. The CPDR alleges that, in order to ensure that submissions from the victims of the Hindutva and State violence are suppressed and kep away from the judicial commission, key leaders of the Prerna Abhiyan have been arrested . It has also been done to queer the pitch for the forthcoming elections in the State as well as 2019. The BJP government is desperate to create a reign of terror in order to polarize the Dalit and Bahujan votes. The desire to create a terror narrative is tantamount to protecting the real terror culprits Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote who will ensure votes for the BJP, says the statement issued by the CPDR.

CPDR has strongly condemned this open show of State terror and complete bypassing of the rule of law by the BJP governments in the State and the Centre and has, further, demanded the immediate release of Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Sudhir Dhawle, Rona Wilson and Mahesh Raut forthwith .

Related Articles:
Who is Milind Ekbote?
Bhima Koregaon accused Milind Ekbote sent to police custody
Dalit, Bahujans resist attempts to spread terror : Bhima Koregaon
What really happened in Bhima Koregaon

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The attacks on Dalits in Bhima Koregaon by sections of dominant caste groups bearing saffron flags on January 1, only vindicated the message of the Elgar Parishad, a massive conference organised by 250 progressive groups of Maharashtra the previous day in Pune. The bicentenary celebrations of the Mahar victory in the Battle of Bhima Koregaon over the Peshwas, who practised the worst forms of caste oppression and untouchability, carried with it a very distinct message for the present this year.  
 
The Elgar Parishad, which was a culmination of a week-long yatra across different parts of Maharasthra, casted the BJP/RSS as the Peshwas of the present times calling upon people to defeat them, taking inspiration from the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. But this neo-Peshwahi, to borrow their term, is not simply a replica of the past. 
 
Two hundred years hence, the ideology of Manuwaad has neatly coalesced with the demands of the market. The latter far from eradicating caste has co-opted and reconfigured it to meet its own requirements of cheap labour, land and other resources. This has accentuated older fissures in society while at the same time adding new layers of marginalization, dehumanization and oppression. 
 
For example, the subordination and indignation of the Dalits in the countryside, reflected in their abysmal land-holdings, has only been compounded by the present agrarian crisis. Or if we were to turn our gaze to our cities, do the Dalit workers forced into inhuman jobs such as manual scavenging and cleaning sewages, where they die unacknowledged deaths amidst toxic gases, even have the option to opt out of their ‘jobs’ when there is hardly any creation of dignified jobs in our country today? 
 
Today in India, the agrarian crisis is at its peak, job creation is at its lowest in the recent past, employment is most informal and insecure than it has ever been, labour reforms have added to the precarity of jobs and fund cuts in education and health have increased with each passing year of the Modi regime. The promises of Vikas & Acche Din have turned out to be bitter and brutal lies and a handful of big corporations have enriched themselves at the cost of the vast majority. Policies such as demonetization and the GST have only added to the woes of the people. Far from the promise of 10 million jobs, the unemployment rate has oly increased to 5%. And for even the jobs that exist ,a whooping majority (71.2%) of workers are beyond the purview of any social security benefits.

On the other hand, the violent manifestation of the RSS’s cultural project of Hindu Rasthra can be seen on a routine basis in lynchings and attacks on minorities and Dalits, be it in Rajasmand, Alwar, Una or Saharanpur – the list is long. The deafening silence of the Prime Minister to most of these attacks, while simultaneous campaigns by the BJP/RSS against cow slaughter or love jihad that were used as a pretext for most of these attacks, exemplify that these attacks enjoy political patronage from the ruling party.

The present regime can be seen as an exemplar of these twin assaults of Manuvaad and the Market. Our Prime Minister is hardly interested in abolishing manual scavenging, for it is not only a source of cheap labour and cost cutting, but he also sees it as a ‘spiritual exercise’ going by the tenets of Brahmanism that RSS upholds!  

But here in also lies an internal contradiction within the Sangh project today. On the one hand, its cultural project seeks to deepen the existing hierarchies and polarise people on the basis of caste and religion. But on the other hand, its economic policies are simultaneously creating an ever expanding underclass of the excluded that cuts across caste and community. 
 
As long as the responses to attacks on minorities and Dalits remained atrocity based and compartmentalized to each community fighting their own battles, it was not being able to make much dent in the larger game-plan of the RSS/BJP. 

Of late however, the historically disadvantaged are not only coming out of their ghettoised existences in resisting the fascism of the Sangh Parivar but are also showing exemplary imagination in seeking to carve out newer alliances. In doing so, they are operationalising in practice Ambedkar’s message that both Brahmanism and capitalism are the enemies of the oppressed in our country. 

For example, the attacks on Dalits in Bhima Koregaon and subsequent protests in Maharashtra were largely portrayed as a caste clash between Dalits and Marathas. But contrary to these representations, both Dalit and Maratha organisations were present at Elgar Parishad in Pune which focussed, apart from other things, on the agrarian crisis, unemployment and famine like conditions in Maharashtra – of which both Dalits and Marathas are victims. Maharashtra accounts for the highest number of farmer suicides in the country. Prior to that in Una, the struggle against lynching of Dalits not only joined hands with the Muslims in their shared oppression, but also sought to raise the question of material dispossession by raising the demand for land for the landless dalits.

The same cross-sectional alliance, hitting out at this internal contradiction of the sangh project, was also visible in the Yuva Hunkar rally which sought to unite a diverse section of students and youth along with minority and dalit organisations. The demand for justice for the persecuted minorities and Dalits was weaved into a larger demand of economic and social justice of all the oppressed. 

A new alignment is emerging on the ground – where the historically oppressed, marginalised and the persecuted along with the students and youth are coming together to take on the sangh. This alignment is still in its nascent stages, and faces enormous challenges.  But if it succeeds in bringing together diverse movements for people’s rights, the Sangh Parivar has much to worry about.
 
(The writer is a research scholar at JNU, member of Bhagat Singh Ambedkar Students’ Organisation and was one of the invited speakers at the Elgar Parishad in Pune on the eve of the bicentenary celebrations of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon)

Images Courtesy: Mid-Day and Hindustan Times
 
 

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