On October 24, 2025, Ipsa Shatakshi — wife of jailed journalist Rupesh Kumar Singh — wrote a deeply personal yet factual account of what the past three years have meant for her family. Her words were calm, restrained, yet filled with pain. She said she was not writing to complain, but to remind everyone of what her husband stood for: truth, fairness, and courage.
Rupesh Kumar Singh, a freelance journalist from Jharkhand, has been in jail since July 2022 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, or UAPA. His arrest followed years of harassment after he reported on land acquisition, mining displacement, Adivasi rights, and human rights violations in eastern India.
The arrest that changed everything
On the morning of July 17, 2022, police arrived at Rupesh Kumar Singh’s home in Ramgarh. For nearly nine hours, they searched every corner, seizing his laptop, phone, and documents.
“He had only one tool — his pen,” wrote his wife, Ipsa Shatakshi. “But they treated it as a weapon.”
The police later alleged Maoist links, though Rupesh’s name was not in the original FIR. The charges were later expanded under UAPA, making bail nearly impossible.
We could finally talk today
Ipsa described the rare moment when she managed to speak to her husband after weeks of silence:
“Today, October 24, 2025, around 10 a.m., I finally spoke to Rupesh through the STD line at Patna’s Beur Jail. The line had been out of order for weeks. The STD has finally been repaired, and we could talk properly today.”
She wrote that Rupesh had been brought back to Beur Jail on September 23, after nearly two years at Bhagalpur Jail, where he had been sent as punishment on arbitrary and baseless charges.
“The transfer was said to be for six months,” she wrote, “but he was kept there for twenty months.”
He was sent to Bhagalpur as punishment
Her letter details how Rupesh’s health deteriorated sharply during that period. She mentioned that “At Bhagalpur Jail, Rupesh’s health deteriorated badly. His triglycerides and VLDL cholesterol reached dangerous levels, and a spinal nerve got compressed. We filed a petition in court, and under court orders, he received treatment. For a while, his reports improved. The doctors advised regular check-ups and a proper diet.”
But since his transfer back to Patna, she said, even the basic medical care ordered by the court has been denied.
He has been locked in a cell without reason
“Since Rupesh’s return to Beur Jail, he has been kept locked in a cell for no reason,” she wrote.
“Earlier, before being sent to Bhagalpur, he was in the normal ward.”
Eepsa described the neglect bluntly that “He needs a medically suitable diet, but even food according to the jail manual is not being provided. Special diet or care is out of the question. No medical examination has been conducted regarding his earlier condition, even though his health problems had reached a dangerous level.”
During their last video call, she noticed him looking thinner and physically weaker. “But someone who has learned to live with courage will always appear spirited — he tries to stay strong. Yet his health condition cannot be ignored” she mentioned
This system breaks the body when it cannot break the spirit
Ipsa’s words move from description to defiance that “We all know that when this cruel system cannot break the morale of a popular and pro-people individual, it resorts to mental torture. It tries to weaken him through his health.”
She wrote that the same game is being played with Rupesh. She added that “If he resists these arbitrary rules or demands his rights, they will again accuse him of disturbing jail discipline and transfer him elsewhere — as they have done before.”
Her tone is both calm and cutting.
Ipsa further added that “There is nothing here except an effort to mentally harass him. A pro-people journalist and writer has already been imprisoned for over three years on false charges. Now they are trying to crush him physically and psychologically.”
Even food is being used as punishment: Ipsa
After describing the mental and physical toll, Ipsa wrote that even daily deprivation has become a form of punishment.
She counted that “At Beur Jail, which ranks among the most corrupt in Bihar, the attitude of the authorities shows clear intent to harm. They are deliberately ignoring his medical needs and dietary requirements.”
And then, with quiet anger, she added “This is no longer about law; it is about vengeance.”
Three years of waiting
Multiple bail pleas have been rejected. Even senior lawyers representing the Singh have questioned the handling of his case. “Every date is another delay. Every rejection is another silence. But silence does not mean acceptance.”
We may need to move the High Court
Her latest note ends not in despair but determination. She mentioned “Looking at the behaviour of Beur Jail — notorious for corruption — it seems we must now file a writ petition in the High Court. What is being done to Rupesh’s health is unacceptable. It is an assault on the rights of a man who has written, spoken, and fought for human rights.”
She signed it simply, “— Ipsa Shatakshi (Life partner of journalist Rupesh Kumar Singh), October 24, 2025.”
Beyond one family’s struggle
The story of Rupesh Kumar Singh is more than a case file. It is a mirror to the shrinking space for independent journalism — and to the quiet resilience of those left behind.
Background of the Case
Rupesh Kumar Singh, an independent journalist from Jharkhand, has been in custody since July 2022 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly maintaining links with the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and arranging funds for them. His arrest followed years of ground reporting on Adivasi displacement, industrial pollution, and alleged police excesses — issues that many believe provoked official retaliation against his journalism.
Though Singh was not initially named in the FIR, he was later implicated based on electronic data allegedly recovered from a co-accused’s device. His defence maintains that no incriminating material was found from his residence, and that the digital evidence is unreliable. Singh had earlier faced a 2019 UAPA arrest, where he was released on default bail after police failed to file a chargesheet in time.
Singh’s detention came days after he posted a Twitter thread on environmental degradation in Jharkhand, heightening concerns about surveillance and intimidation of critical journalists. His case echoes that of other individuals — from Umar Khalid and Khalid Saifi to the late Father Stan Swamy — facing prolonged incarceration under UAPA.
Supreme Court’s decision
On January 27, 2025, a bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal dismissed Singh’s Special Leave Petition challenging the Jharkhand High Court’s refusal of bail, stating it was “not inclined to interfere.” The Court offered no detailed reasoning, effectively prolonging Singh’s incarceration without trial.
We had then pointed out that in the ruling exemplifies judicial deference and inconsistency in UAPA bail jurisprudence — where the presumption of guilt replaces the presumption of innocence, and journalists’ constitutional rights are eclipsed by the state’s sweeping claims of national security.
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