Background of the case

Mahesh Raut, a land and forest rights activist, has been extensively involved with Gram Sabhas in the mining regions of Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. His activism centres on empowering local communities and protecting their rights against encroachments by mining corporations.

On June 6, 2018, Mahesh Raut, along with five other individuals, was arrested by the Pune police. The charges against them included spreading Maoist ideology, funding banned organizations, and recruiting individuals for the Maoists. These arrests were part of a broader investigation into the Bhima Koregaon violence that occurred in January 2018, which led to clashes between Dalit and Maratha communities.

The Pune police alleged that inflammatory speeches at the Elgar Parishad event held on December 31, 2017, in Pune, triggered the violence. The event was organized to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon, a significant event for the Dalit community. According to the authorities, Raut and others were implicated based on letters and emails retrieved from their electronic devices, allegedly linking them to Maoist activities.

Mahesh Raut, along with other accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, faces several serious charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) 1967 and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Procedural history

In November 2019, a session’s court in Pune rejected the bail applications of the accused, including Raut, citing prima facie evidence suggesting their involvement in activities aimed at undermining democracy in India.

In November 2021, an NIA court rejected Raut’s bail application, noting the National Investigation Agency (NIA)’s submission that his name appeared in a letter retrieved from co-accused Rona Wilson’s computer. Raut contested this, arguing that the letter’s authenticity was questionable due to forensic reports indicating malware infiltration in Wilson’s electronic devices.

In April 2022, Raut sought discharge from the charges, claiming that the evidence (letters) against him was compromised and tampered with. Despite this, the Bombay High Court in May 2022 dismissed a petition reviewing its earlier order denying default bail to Raut and others.

On September 21, 2023, the Bombay High Court granted bail to Raut but stayed the order for a week to allow the NIA to appeal to the Supreme Court.

On September 27, 2023, the Supreme Court admitted the NIA’s appeal against Raut’s bail and extended the stay on the High Court’s order.

As of June 2024, Mahesh Raut remains in judicial custody at Taloja Central Jail, awaiting trial. He recently sought interim bail from the Supreme Court to attend his grandmother’s last rites, and the hearing was scheduled for June 21, 2023. The Supreme Court has repeatedly extended the stay on the Bombay High Court’s bail order, pending further hearings and decisions.

Court proceedings for interim bail

Advocate Aparna Bhat, representing Raut, presented the case, emphasising that the Bombay High Court had granted bail to Raut, although the order was subsequently stayed by the Supreme Court. She highlighted the recent passing of Raut’s grandmother in late May and the necessity for him to participate in the remaining ceremonies.

Justice Nath addressed the NIA counsel, seeking their submissions. The NIA counsel argued against the urgency of the interim bail, questioning the necessity of approaching the Supreme Court instead of waiting for parole. Justice Nath explained that the pending Special Leave Petition (SLP) and the stay granted by the Supreme Court justified the immediate hearing.

Justice Bhatti noted that applications for interim bail under such special circumstances should be considered, clarifying that this was not a request for regular bail but a temporary measure to allow Raut to fulfil family obligations. The court acknowledged the significance of the ceremonies scheduled for June 29-30 and July 5-6.

Court’s decision

Justice Nath dictated the order, noting the facts and circumstances of the case, including the period of incarceration Raut had already undergone and the specific nature of his request. The bench expressed its inclination to grant interim bail for two weeks, from June 26 to July 10. The terms and conditions of the bail were delegated to the Special or Trial Court, with the NIA given the opportunity to suggest stringent conditions to prevent any misuse.

Justice Nath emphasized that Raut must surrender without fail on July 10, concluding the court’s decision to grant the interim relief.

“Considering facts and circumstances, and period of incarceration already undergone, and nature of request made, we are inclined to grant interim bail of 2 weeks to applicant, which may commence from 26 June and end on 10 July. Terms and conditions may be determined by Special/Trial Court. NIA may impress upon the court to impose stringent conditions (as necessary). Applicant shall surrender without fail on 10 July.”

Case citation: National Investigation Agency v. Mahesh Sitaram Raut Crl.A. No. 003048 / 2023

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The post Bhima Koregaon Case: Relief for activist as Supreme Court allows for interim bail 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.

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Mahesh Raut, the youngest of those accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence case, turned 33 inside Taloja central jail on Wednesday, July 1 2020. The Adivasi rights activist from Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district, has now spent over two years in jail after he was arrested on June 6, 2018 and booked under stringent charges like the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

Mahesh Raut is one of the ‘Bhima Koregaon-11’, a term used for the 11 prominent writers, lawyers, journalists and human rights defenders including Sudha Bharadwaj, Rona Wilson, Gautam Navlakha, Varavara Rao, Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Arun Ferreira, Sudir Dhawale, Vernon Gonsalves and Anand Teltumbde who have been arrested under UAPA for allegedly inciting violence and communal hatred, “giving provocative presentations and speeches” and having Maoist links, reported Article 14.

Friends and family decry stringent charges

Raut is a degree holder from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences and a former fellow of the Prime Minister Rural Development (PMRD) Programme, 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, Article 14 reported.

Now two years in the incarceration, Mahesh who suffers from ulcerative colitis is still languishing in prison without a trial. A co-convener of the Visthapan Virodhi Jan Vilas Andolan (VVJVA) and a member of the Bharat Jan Andolan, Mahesh’s arrest is wrongful, his family and friends have said time and again. In 2018, former fellows of the PMRD programme told Scroll.in, “Raids on his house and detention had become very common for him in last few months because of his tireless work with Bharat Jan Andolan. We see this hasty police action as the state government’s response to increasing exertion of oppressed class against sustained caste atrocities in the state.”

At the time, they had said that Raut had neither attended the Elgar Parishad nor was he a part of the organizing committee. This year, his sister Monali speaking about the charges he was booked under, told Article 14, “In fact, he told me that after he was arrested, the police did not ask him a single question about Bhima Koregaon, only about mining projects in Gadchiroli.”

His foray into activism

Raut’s fight for justice for the tribals of Gadchiroli was very close to his heart. The forests in Gadchiroli rest with the Government of India and the forest department. Though these forests are economically, ecologically, culturally and socially of utmost importance to the tribals, who depend on it for their livelihoods, they have been exploited by the authorities who have leased out chunks of forest land to industries for mining.

He started out as a community organiser where he mobilized Gram Sabhas and educated the people about their rights to secure formal community land titles to the forest, assert their rights to forest management and conservation under the Forest Rights Act (FRA), wrote Article 14. Raut helped these communities secure FRA rights to harvest and market forest produce like tendu and bamboo which had until then been under the control of the forest department and upper-caste contractors. It was Mahesh who relentlessly worked to inform the Gram Sabhas that it was their consent and that of the tribals which was imperative in the process of any mining lease to be awarded to any corporate. He taught them to take stock of their power and fight democratically against the stronghold of the government.

In 2017, Raut and Neema Pathak Broome had co-published an account of how people in Surjagad, Etapalli and Bhamragad, as in other parts of the district had continued a democratic resistance on the ground even though they have been regularly branded as ‘Maoists’ and booked under various sections of the IPC for fighting against corporate giants.

In a video, Adivasi leader and ZIla Parishad member Sainu Masum Gota spoke about how Mahesh Raut suffered at the hands of authorities for raising his voice for the Adivasis. Sainu said, “Mahesh Raut has shown us the way. Since 2013, he has been educating us about the Forest Rights Act, Panchayats (Extension to the Scheduled Areas), Act (PESA Act) and the rights we have as forest dwelling communities. He taught us to assert our rights and increased our knowledge about how we could sell our forest produce. All the benefits we have received, it’s all because of him. How did they accuse him of such charges? We will never call a knowledgeable man like him a ‘naxal’. The cases on him are wrong and he should be set free.”

Mahesh showed the helpless people a way, by encouraging them to become a part of the system to fight it. He stood by the Gram Sabhas as they decided to participate in Panchayat Samiti and Zila Parishad elections to ensure that their fight was democratic.

The son of a police patil (a quasi-judicial village-level officer), Mahesh has yet to traverse a long road to achieve justice. His family tells Article 14 that they’re allowed to speak to him only for two minutes a week. His spirit remains undiminished, his friends say, as they revel in the pencil sketches Mahesh bhau sends to them from prison. A compassionate man as described by his family, Mahesh’s quest for ways that he can contribute to the society is ongoing. But what comes across through all of Mahesh’s interactions is that he is always encouraging people to fight, to do better and foster growth.

Reminiscing Raut’s words his sister Monali told Article 14, “Through my youth, he would always ask me, ‘What are you planning to do next?’ When I would say, ‘I will study this or I will work there’, he would say, all that is okay, but what will you do to help society? Do something so that people miss you when you are gone.”

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The Pune Police on Friday took into custody activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira hours after a Pune Sessions court rejected their bail pleas and applications seeking an extension of their house arrests for seven days. The period of their house arrests, as ruled by the Supreme Court, ended on Friday.

The review petition filed by RomilaThapar and others was heard today and the Order is still being awaited.

Gonsalves is being taken to MIDC police station in Mumbai’s Andheri and later will be taken to Pune.

Ferreira and Gonsalves, along with activists Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao and Gautam Navlakha, were arrested on August 28 in connection with their alleged involvement in an event that preceded the violence at BhimaKoregaon near Pune on January 1. On Thursday, a Hyderabad court had extended the house arrest of Varavara Rao. The Delhi High Court had ordered Navlakha’s release from house arrest on October 1.

The Supreme Court had last month extended the house arrest of all five activists by four weeks. Five other activists – ShomaSen, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale – were arrested in June as part of the same investigation. They are also accused of having links to the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist).
 
 

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