Browsed by
Month: December 2023

Bail not Jail, India’s constitutional courts’ bumpy ride towards personal liberty

Bail not Jail, India’s constitutional courts’ bumpy ride towards personal liberty

CJP / by CJP

A retrospective glance at 2023: Have courts effectively safeguarded the diminishing right to liberty for Indian citizens?

“The right not to be denied reasonable bail without just cause is an essential element of an enlightened criminal justice system”

Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MM Sundaresh, Supreme Court July 11, 2022

India follows a reformative form of justice system. Our criminal system is founded on the belief of not curtailing the rights of a prisoner and under trial. The system, thus far, also empowers constitutional courts to protect the fundamental rights guaranteed to every citizen of our country.
Read more

Also read:
● Supreme Court directs high courts to expedite hearing of bail applications (The Leaflet / Dec 2023)

Koregaon-Bhima Shaurya Day; High Court orders to remove sugarcane near Victory Pillar

Koregaon-Bhima Shaurya Day; High Court orders to remove sugarcane near Victory Pillar


Imprisoned Voices. Booklet.

 

Pune Mirror / by By PuneMirror Bureau, Yashpal Sonkamble

The High Court has cleared the way for Shaurya Day to be celebrated in Koregaon-Bhima. The court has ordered removal of the sugarcane from the Vijay Pillar area and clear the place.
Read more

Also Read:
● Bhima Koregaon Violence: Four Different Theories, but No Justice in Sight (The Wire / Jan 2022)
● Let’s Remember the Lesson of Bhima Koregaon: Down with the New Peshwai (Sanhati│ by Sudhir Dhawale │ March 2018)
● The Myth of Bhima Koregaon Reinforces the Identities It Seeks to Transcend (The Wire | Anand Teltumbde | Jan 2018)
● Why peoples’ coalitions are uniting against Hindutva — the ‘new Peshwai’ (Dailyo.in │ by Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves │ Jan 30, 2018)

Sudha Bharadwaj: What I knew in the abstract I was now living, feeling and observing

Sudha Bharadwaj: What I knew in the abstract I was now living, feeling and observing

Sudha Bharadwaj

The Leaflet / by Freny Manecksha

In this interview, trade unionist and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, who was jailed in the Bhima-Koregaon matter and has just produced a book on From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada, tells Freny Manecksha how prison changes one for the worse, but also for the better.

“But the irony is on the day they (Adivasis of Sarkeguda, Chhattisgarh) are vindicated, seven years after they began their fight, I, their first lawyer, am in jail 1,000 kilometers away! Yet it is a happy day.”
Read more

Also read:
● Prison Occupancy Rose In 2022, Despite Campaign To Release Undertrials. Three in four prisoners continue to be undertrials, a majority of whom belong to oppressed caste groups (Indiaspend.com | Shreehari Paliath | Dec 2023)

● Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism


Publisher: Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
Edition: January 2021
Language: English
Sudha Bharadwaj’s interview by: Darshana Mitra and Santanu Chakraborty
Paperback: 316 pages
Access a free PDF copy of the book here:
Sudha_Bharadwaj_speaks (2,1 MB)

The curious case of Gautam Navlakha’s house arrest

The curious case of Gautam Navlakha’s house arrest

Poster by PUDR

The Leaflet / by Prakhar Bajpai

Taking a closer look at the legal and practical aspects of house arrest, the author makes a case for pivotal reforms that the Supreme Court must make to strengthen criminal justice.
… A notable illustration of this pertains to the legal proceedings involving Gautam Navlakha, wherein the Supreme Court has crafted jurisprudential constructs surrounding house arrest within the ambit of custodial arrangements.
Read more

Also read:
● Supreme Court adjourns hearing on the dispute over Gautam Navlakha’s place of house arrest by eight weeks (The Leaflet / Sep 2023)
● NIA opposes Gautam Navlakha’s plea for moving house arrest from Mumbai to Alibag (The Leaflet / May 2023)
● Explainer: As activist Gautam Navlakha is allowed house arrest, what does this actually involve? (Scroll.in / Nov 2022)

NIA court gives temporary bail to Surendra Gadling to attend wedding in Nagpur

NIA court gives temporary bail to Surendra Gadling to attend wedding in Nagpur

Poster by PUDR, June 2023

NIA court gives temporary bail to Surendra Gadling to attend wedding in Nagpur

08/12/2023

Hindustan Times / by Rutuja Gaidhani

A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Thursday granted temporary bail to Surendra Gadling, an accused in the Elgar Parishad case 2017, from December 25 to January 2 of 2024, to attend a relative’s wedding in Nagpur.
While granting Gadling bail, special judge R J Katariya noted that the original wedding card of his relative was produced which proved the case. “The applicant (Gadling) shall not leave Nagpur city and there shall not be any prayer for extension of the period of bail in any circumstances,” said the court.
Read more

NIA Court Grants Temporary Bail To Surendra Gadling Held In Elgar Parishad Case To Attend Close Relative’s Wedding

07/12/2023

Free Press Journal / by Charul Shah Joshi

He has been asked not to leave the Nagpur city during the said period of one week and also not hamper the evidence and prosecution witnesses
The special NIA court on Thursday granted temporary bail to advocate Surendra Gadling, an accused in the Elgar Parishad case, to attend the wedding of a close relative in the family for one week from December 25 till January 2.
Read more

Also read:
● Supreme Court issues notice in bail plea of Surendra Gadling (The Leaflet / Oct 2023)
● Video: The Second Song of Surendra Galding (Adv-Surendra-Gadling-Defence-Committee / lyrics by Sagar Gorkhe)

hindi | 8:43min | June 6, 2023
Five years back this day they took him away hoping to break his spirit.
1825 days so far behind bars and see who won?
During the short release he sang his heart.
Caged yet fearless.
U can jail him not his charisma.
This is the second of the songs.
Watch video / Listen to the song
● Surendra Gadling’s Computer Was Attacked, Incriminating Documents Planted: Arsenal Consulting (The Wire / July 2021)
● Video: The Prison Song of Surendra Gadling (The Wire / lyrics by Ramesh Gaychor)

hindi | 11min | 2021
51- year-old Gadling, a well-known criminal lawyer in Nagpur, was once a cultural activist, who sang songs of political resistance. The 11- minutes- long rendition tells you what it means to be incarcerated in Indian prisons. From food, water, to medical care, everything is a struggle, Gadling narrates. The song was recorded by one of Gadling’s colleagues and was made available to The Wire after obtaining his consent.
Watch video / Listen to the song

Contrary To SC’s Rules Of Assignment, At Least 8 Politically Sensitive Cases Moved To One Judge In 4 Months

Contrary To SC’s Rules Of Assignment, At Least 8 Politically Sensitive Cases Moved To One Judge In 4 Months

article 14 / by Saurav Das

An analysis of eight politically sensitive cases shows they were moved to Justice Bela M Trivedi of the Supreme Court over the past four months, even though the rules of assignment say they should remain with the senior judge or before a judge hearing a similar case. Close to six years after four Supreme Court justices raised the issue of cases being assigned before a specific judge, senior lawyers have now questioned the manner of moving cases by the ‘master of the roster’, the Chief Justice of India.
…
The Case Of Mahesh Raut
A similar pattern is visible in the incarcerated Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad violence case accused Raut’s bail plea.
Raut, who is a researcher and forest rights activist, was arrested in June 2018 by the Pune police for his alleged connection with the violence that broke out on 1 January 2018, in Bhima Koregaon village near Pune.
Read more

Also read:
▪ ‘Ominous portents’: Why High Court staying its own bail orders in Bhima Koregaon case is troubling (Scroll.in / Dec 2023)
▪ Bhima Koregaon: Bombay High Court grants regular bail to Mahesh Raut (The Leaflet / Sep 2023)

As Watali casts a long shadow, Jagtap’s bail plea adjourned, to be heard after Shoma Sen’s

As Watali casts a long shadow, Jagtap’s bail plea adjourned, to be heard after Shoma Sen’s

Jyoti Jagtap

The Leaflet / by Shrikha Gowri

A division bench of the Supreme Court said it will next hear Jyoti Jagtap’s bail petition in the third week of January, after Shoma Sen’s regular bail plea has been heard.
Today, the Supreme Court said it will hear anti-caste activist and musical performer Jyoti Jagtap’s bail plea after Shoma Sen’s bail petition.
Read more

Also read:
● SC says principles of Arun and Vernon bail judgment to apply to Jyoti Jagtap (The Leaflet / Nov 1, 2023)
● Supreme Court asks whether Gonsalves and Ferreira judgment “formula” can be applied to Jyoti Jagtap (The Leaflet / Aug 2023)
● Kabir Kala Manch: A History of Revolutionary Singing and State Repression (ritimo / April 2022)

Supreme Court Adjourns Shoma Sen’s Bail Hearing Until January 10 / SC quotes Watali judgment

Supreme Court Adjourns Shoma Sen’s Bail Hearing Until January 10 / SC quotes Watali judgment

Shoma Sen’s Bail Hearing in SC Adjourned Yet Again, Until January 10

07/12/2023

Newsclick / by Newsclick Report

Sen is an accused in the Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad Maoist links and criminal conspiracy case along with 14 other activists and academics, and is charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) (UAPA) Act.
The Supreme Court adjourned English professor Shoma Sen’s bail hearing in the Bhima Koregaon case until January 10, indicating that it would have to examine if any fresh allegations were levelled against her in the supplementary chargesheets.
Read more

Supreme Court Adjourns UAPA Accused Shoma Sen’s Bail Hearing Until January 10

07/12/2023

Live Law / by Awstika Das

‘Were Fresh Allegations Made In Supplementary Chargesheets And Did The High Court Consider Them?’ Supreme Court Asks During Shoma Sen’s Bail Hearing
The Supreme Court on Wednesday (December 6), while hearing English professor and Bhima Koregaon-accused Shoma Sen’s plea against a Bombay High Court order asking her to approach a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) for bail, indicated that it would have to examine whether the supplementary chargesheets filed in the case levelled any fresh allegations against her and these were brought on record before the high court.
Read more

Supreme Court quotes Watali judgment in Shoma Sen’s bail application

06/12/2023

The Leaflet / by Gurismran Kaur Bakshi

Shoma Sen has been incarcerated for five-and-a-half years and her bail plea has been pending before the Supreme Court for nearly six months.
“[DO] I have to run from court to court just for bail? That cannot be by virtue of Article 21. It has been five-and-a-half years,” decried senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for women’s rights activist and academic Shoma Sen in a bail plea.
Today, the Supreme Court division Bench comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Augustine George Masih partly heard a regular bail application of Sen.
Read more

Live Thread by Live Law / @LiveLawIndia (Dec 6)
#SupremeCourt to hear interim medical bail plea of English professor and Bhima Koregaon-accused Shoma Sen on grounds of her deteriorating health.
…
Bench adjourns hearing until tomorrow.
Bose J: Tomorrow, first item.
Live Thread by Bar & Bench / @lawbarandbench (Dec 6)
Supreme Court hearing bail plea of Prof Shoma Sen, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence case.
ASG KM Nataraj: HC did not have chance to examine on merits, did not look at all the evidence.
Sr Adv Anand Grover for Sen: Her plea is pending in SC for 6 months. We have shown everything to SC and HC.
Justice Aniruddha Bose: Technical point Mr Nataraj is correct.
…
Justice Bose: We will continue tomorrow. Keep it part-heard.

Also read:
● Fearing grant of medical bail to Shoma Sen, NIA pleads fast-tracking of hearing of regular bail (The Leaflet / Nov 30, 2023)
● Gonsalves and Ferreira bail judgment: A step in the right direction but where will we go from here? (The Leaflet / Aug 2023)
● “Hopefully waiting” writes Shoma Sen from prison (InSAF India / Jul 2023)

● Shoma Sen moves Supreme Court seeking bail (The Leaflet / April 2023)

“For the freedom to breathe” – Sudha Bharadwaj’s book: From Phansi Yard (pics)

“For the freedom to breathe” – Sudha Bharadwaj’s book: From Phansi Yard (pics)

by PUCL India / @PUCLindia (Dez 5, 2023)
PUCL Maharashtra and Free Speech Collective invite you to a book reading and conversations at 6 pm on Dec 9, 2023 in Bandra, Mumbai, “For the freedom to breathe” On the occasion of 75 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 25 years of the UN Declaration on HRDs

by PUCL India / @PUCLindia (Dec 11):
‘For the Freedom to Breathe’ by PUCL Maharashtra & Free Speech Collective. Reading by Ratna Pathak Shah of excerpts from ‘Phansi Ward’, discussion between Freny Manecksha and author Sudha Bharadwaj, talk by Sukanya Shantha on ‘Criminal Justice and Prisons-the Media’s Blind Spots’

by naresh fernandes / @tajmahalfoxtrot (Dec 9)
Ahead of Human Rights Day, a reading and discussion about Sudha Bharadwaj’s searing, funny book about her time in jail in the farcical Bhima Koregaon case.

by Dilip D’Souza / @DeathEndsFun (Dec 9)
Commemorating 75 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Sudha Bharadwaj speaks about her book, “From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada”.

Mumbai. Dec 9, 2023

Sudha Bharadwaj’s book and the drama on a revolutionary on death row

10/12/2023

Countercurrents / by Vidyadhar Date

The reading by Ratna Pathak Shah last evening from Sudha Bharadwaj’s book about days in the death row in jail, reminded me of a thrilling Marathi play “Thank You Mr Glaad” about a Naxalite revolutionary. The movement has taken little note of the play written by Anil Barve. It was also a big popular hit and was produced by Prabhakar Panshikar, a very popular actor and producer, in the 1970s.
Read more

“Today If You’re Working With An NGO, You’re Either Anti-National Or Corrupt”

“Today If You’re Working With An NGO, You’re Either Anti-National Or Corrupt”

Youth Ki Awaaz / by Surbhi Singh

It was a normal day for Malika Shah, a social worker working in Bal Raksha Bharat. She woke up with the feeling of doing something for the children, motivating herself by saying that nothing can stop her and her team from doing good. As she exited the house, her neighbors stared at her and called her anti-national.
… In 2018, several activists from human rights NGOs were arrested and accused of being associated with Maoists and working against the state.
Read more

Also read:
● Chronology Samajhiye: 5 Days, 4 Agencies Under Modi Govt Control Target Opposition, Journalists, Activists (The Wire | Soumashree Sarkar | Oct 6, 2023)
● Report: UAPA – CRIMINALISING DISSENT AND STATE TERROR (PUCL / Sep 2022) Download report
● Narendra Modi’s Government Is Using False Charges of Terrorism to Repress Its Opponents (Jacobinmag / April 2022)