Asha – free them all

Bombay High Court Seeks NIA Response On Varavara Rao’s Plea To Shift To Hyderabad

12/06/2026 Asha

Bombay High Court Seeks NIA Response On Varavara Rao’s Plea To Shift To Hyderabad

12/06/2026

Live Law / by Narsi Benwal

The Bombay High Court on Friday (June 12) issued notice on petition by 85-year-old Telugu Poet P Varavara Rao, accused under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in the Bhima Koregaon case, seeking permission to move to Hyderabad stating that living in Mumbai is not affordable for him. Rao, has challenged a March 16 order passed by a special NIA Court, which dismissed his application to reside in Hyderabad.
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Bombay HC seeks NIA response to Varavara Rao’s plea for leave to shift to Hyderabad

12/06/2026

Bar & Bench / by Bar & Bench

A bail condition imposed on Rao is that he cannot leave the jurisdiction of an NIA court in Mumbai without permission. Rao has now sought permission to shift to Hyderabad.
Activist-poet P Varavara Rao, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, has moved the Bombay High Court seeking permission to permanently shift his residence from Mumbai to Hyderabad [P Varavara Rao v. National Investigation Agency & Ors.].
A Division Bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Kamal Khata has sought the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) response to the plea and posted the matter for hearing after two weeks.
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HC seeks NIA response on Varavara Rao’s plea to move to Hyderabad

12/06/2026

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The activist’s bail conditions mandate that he obtain permission from the National Investigation Agency court to travel outside Mumbai.
The Bombay High Court on Friday sought the National Investigation Agency’s response to a petition by activist-poet Varavara Rao, who is out on bail in the Bhima Koregaon case, seeking permission to permanently relocate from Mumbai to Hyderabad, Live Law reported.
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Also read:
▪ NIA Seeks Cancellation of Activists Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj Bail Over Mumbai Press Club Meet (The Wire / May 2026)
▪ NIA court rejects Varavara Rao’s plea to permanently relocate to his hometown of Hyderabad (Times of India / March 2026)
▪ Bombay High Court allows Gautam Navlakha to return to Delhi, relaxes restrictive bail condition in Bhima Koregaon Case (Sabrang India / Dec 2025)
▪ Varavara Rao told to remain in Mumbai, not to make statement on case to media (The Indian Express / Aug 2022)

NIA Moves to Cancel Bails of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in Elgar Parishad Case

11/06/2026 Asha

NIA Moves to Cancel Bails of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in Elgar Parishad Case

11/06/2026

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

It had, last month, moved a similar application seeking the cancellation of Varavara Rao and Sudha Bharadwaj’s bails.
After their prolonged incarceration and subsequent release on bail, the National Investigating Agency is eager to send the rights defenders held in the Elgar Parishad case back to jail.
The agency (NIA) had, last month, moved an application seeking cancellation of the bail of Telugu poet-activist Varavara Rao and lawyer-academic Sudha Bharadwaj. On June 10, Wednesday, the agency moved a fresh application seeking cancellation of the bails of two more activists, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira.
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NIA seeks bail cancellation of Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira over violation of bail conditions

11/06/2026

Bar & Bench / by Bar & Bench

The agency alleged before the special court in Mumbai that Ferreira and Gonsalves attended a January 19 gathering at the Mumbai Press Club where other accused persons were present.
A Mumbai special court on Wednesday directed accused Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira to respond to the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) pleas seeking cancellation of their bail in the Bhima Koregaon case over alleged violations of bail conditions.
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NIA moves to cancel Gonsalves, Ferreira bail in Elgar Parishad case

11/06/2026

Hindustan Times / by Vikrant Jha

Special Judge Chakor S Baviskar directed Gonsalves (68) and Ferreira (53) to file their replies to the applications, which have been posted for further consideration on June 19.
Weeks after seeking cancellation of the bail granted to Varavara Rao and Sudha Bharadwaj, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday moved a special court seeking revocation of the bail granted to activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case, alleging that they violated the conditions of their release by attending a gathering at the Mumbai Press Club earlier this year.
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NIA seeks bail cancellation of 2 more Elgar case accused | Mumbai News

10/06/2026

The Times of India / by Rebecca Samervel

Nearly a month after seeking cancellation of the bail granted to two 2018 Elgar Parishad case accused—activist and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj and poet Varavara Rao—NIA on Wednesday moved moved a similar plea in a special court against two co-accused, activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, citing wilful violation of the bail conditions.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Activist Sudha Bharadwaj Seeks All Evidence Cited By NIA In Bail Cancellation Plea (Times of India / Jun 2026)
▪ NIA Seeks Cancellation of Activists Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj Bail Over Mumbai Press Club Meet (The Wire / May 2026)
▪ Anand Patwardhan: The taming of the Mumbai Press Club (Scroll.in / May 2026)
▪ Mumbai Press Club Suspensions Over Elgar Parishad Accused Visit Spark Row; NIA Inquiry Raises Stakes (The Wire / May 2026)
▪ Supreme Court grants bail to Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, with tethers (The Leaflet / Jul 2023)
▪ ‘No Material’ to Demonstrate Terror Link, Yet Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferriera Spent 5 Years in Jail [Read judgment] (The Wire / Jul 2023)

Today marks eight years of wrongful incarceration for people’s lawyer Surendra Gadling

06/06/2026 Asha

By Sushmita / @Sushmitav1 (June 6):
Today, Adv. Surendra Gadling completes eight years of wrongful incarceration without the trial having commenced, and having denied bail on multiple occasions.
Adv. Gadling always fought for the rights of those falsely charged with draconian laws and fought against atrocities
committed on Dalit, Bahujans and Adivasis. He obtained acquittal of hundreds of Dalit, Adivasis trapped in false cases. He also fought against cases of caste atrocities. It’s high time this human rights defender is freed and urgently given bail.

Also read:
▪ Eight years in jail without trial: HC grants bail to lawyer Surendra Gadling in Elgar Parishad case (Hindustan Times / May 2026)
▪ 7 yrs in jail, charges framed against Surendra Gadling in Surajgarh arson case. What Bombay HC told SC (The Print / Apr 2026)
▪ Justice Chandurkar Recuses From Hearing Surendra Gadling’s Bail Plea In Gadchiroli Arson Case (Live Law / Apr 2026)
▪ Public Meeting at Press Club of India Demands Release of People’s Lawyer Surendra Gadling (The Mooknayak / March 2026)
▪ Explained: The 2016 Surjagarh arson case, the Elgaar link, and why the Supreme Court is intervening now (The Indian Express / Jan 2026)
▪ Surendra Gadling and the justice that must be seen to be denied (Frontline / Feb 2026)
▪ How Long is Too Long? – On the Maximum Period that an Undertrial Prisoner can be Detained (Constitutional Law and Philosophy | by Hany Babu and Surendra Gadling | Oct 2024)
▪ In What Language, Under Total Surveillance, Does Truth Speak to a Tormented People? (The Wire | by Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling and Mahesh Raut | June 2024)
▪ Encountering Resistance – State Policy for Development in Gadchiroli (PUDR / June 2018)
▪ IAPL press note about arrest of Advocate Gadling & other people’s activists (Sanhati / June 2018)

Hany Babu: “I was determined not to be broken”

03/06/2026 Asha

The Polis Project / by Md Imran Raza

Hany Babu, a 59-year-old professor in the English department of Delhi University and an anti-caste activist, was arrested on July 28, 2020, charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). He was incarcerated in Taloja Jail, Mumbai for 1,955 days without trial and eventually granted bail by the Bombay High Court on December 4 last year.
… Even after his release, Babu remains confined to Mumbai and has to take permission from the court even to visit his old mother in Kerala. Visibly unwell and with multiple health issues, Babu, in this interview with Md Imran Raza, opens up about his days in the prison.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Me Coming Out Alive Is A Miracle: Hany Babu, Bhima-Koregaon Accused, On Life Behind Bars (Outlook / Jan 2026)
▪ Prison, Pandemic and Survival: How Hany Babu’s Freedom Was Curtailed Long Before His Arrest (The Wire / Dec 2025)
▪ After five years behind bars, Bombay High Court grants bail to Prof. Hany Babu (CJP / Dec 2025)

▪ THE BK-16 PRISON DIARIES SERIES (THE POLIS PROJECT / JUNE 2024)

Credits: Drawing by Arun Ferreira / The Polis Project

To mark six years of the arbitrary arrests and imprisonment of political dissidents in the Bhima Koregaon case, The Polis Project is publishing a series of writings by the BK-16, and their families, friends and partners. By describing various aspects of the past six years, the series offers a glimpse into the BK-16’s lives inside prison, as well as the struggles of their loved ones outside. Each piece in the series is complemented by Arun Ferreira’s striking and evocative artwork.

INTRODUCING THE BK-16 PRISON DIARIES SERIES (THE POLIS PROJECT / JUNE 2024)

Activist Sudha Bharadwaj Seeks All Evidence Cited By NIA In Bail Cancellation Plea

28/05/2026 Asha

Submit proof of bail rider violation: Elgar case accused Sudha Bharadwaj to NIA

28/05/2026

Times of India / by Rebecca Samervel

Sudha Bharadwaj asks court to order NIA to disclose witness statements and documents after agency seeks bail cancellation over alleged Elgar Parishad case, sought directions to the prosecution to furnish all the statements of witnesses recorded during an in-house inquiry and all the relevant documents cited by the agency.
The court directed the prosecution to submit its reply and posted the matter for June 10.
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Sudha Bhardwaj seeks material relied upon by NIA in bail cancellation plea

The Print / by pti

Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case accused Sudha Bhardwaj has sought the material relied upon by the prosecution while seeking cancellation of her bail.
The probe agency on May 15 moved the special NIA court for cancellation of bail of Bhardwaj and Varavara Rao, alleging they attended a gathering at Press Club here with the intention to propagate Maoist ideology in “blatant and wilful disregard”. …
The court on Thursday said the material be supplied to the accused only after due verification in the court. The matter will be next heard on June 10.
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Elgar Parishad Case: Activist Sudha Bharadwaj Seeks All Evidence Cited By NIA In Bail Cancellation Plea

28/05/2026

Free Press Journal / by Charul Shah Joshi

Activist Sudha Bharadwaj, accused in the Elgar Parishad case, sought all material relied upon by the NIA in its plea seeking cancellation of her bail and that of Varavara Rao. A Mumbai court directed verification of a pen drive containing evidence before handing it over. The NIA alleged the duo violated bail conditions by attending a January meeting with co-accused members.
Activist Sudha Bharadwaj, booked in connection with the Elgar Parishad case, has sought all the material relied on by the prosecution while seeking cancellation of bail.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Bombay HC Judge Recuses From Hearing Mumbai Press Club Plea, Cites His Appearance As Prosecutor In Bhima Koregaon Case (Live Law / May 2026)
▪ NIA Seeks Cancellation of Activists Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj Bail Over Mumbai Press Club Meet (The Wire / May 2026)
▪ Anand Patwardhan: The taming of the Mumbai Press Club (Scroll.in / May 2026)
▪ Mumbai Press Club Suspensions Over Elgar Parishad Accused Visit Spark Row; NIA Inquiry Raises Stakes (The Wire / May 2026)

The ‘burden’ of proof: As chargesheets surge in volume and data, accused seek access to computers

22/05/2026 Asha

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

From accused in the now-concluded Malegaon 2008 blast case to those booked in the Elgaar Parishad case of 2017-18, several accused have been given permission to use computers, with curbs.
In 2006, some of the accused in the Mumbai serial train blasts case had to approach the court for permission to keep their over 10,000-page chargesheet in their barracks; the overcrowded Arthur Road Jail barrack barely had space for its prisoners.
Twenty years later, the jail still remains crowded, chargesheets have only got longer, and the struggle for space has gone digital. Undertrials across jails are seeking access to computers or laptops to read the electronic evidence against them. From accused in the now-concluded Malegaon 2008 blast case to those booked in the Elgaar Parishad case of 2017-18, several accused have been given permission to use computers, with curbs.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Provide access to computer, court tells jail authorities on plea made by Surendra Gadling and Arun Ferreira (The Indian Express / Jan 2023)
▪ Incriminating evidence planted in computers: The Trojan solved the Bhima Koregaon case! (Anchored Narratives / Jan 2023)
▪ Since Evidence Tampering Not Ruled Out, Accused Want Chargesheets Quashed (The Wire / Oct 2022)
▪ NIA’s draft chargesheet against Elgar Parishad accused smells foul (People’s Review / Aug 2021)
▪ Surendra Gadling’s Computer Was Attacked, Incriminating Documents Planted: Arsenal Consulting (The Wire / July 2021)
▪ Chargesheet in Elgar Parishad case: CPI Maoist documents, letters on ‘anti-fascist front’ cited by NIA (The Indian Express / Oct 2020)
▪ Supplementary chargesheet brings little new information to the case (Scroll.in / Feb 2019)

Bombay HC Judge Recuses From Hearing Mumbai Press Club Plea, Cites His Appearance As Prosecutor In Bhima Koregaon Case

19/05/2026 Asha

Bombay HC Judge Recuses From Hearing Mumbai Press Club Plea, Cites His Appearance As Prosecutor In Bhima Koregaon Case

19/05/2026

Live Law / by Narsi Benwal

The ongoing controversy over Sudha Bharadwaj and Varavara Rao – both accused in the Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad case, who allegedly flouted their bail conditions and together attended an event organised by journalist Gurbir Singh at the Mumbai Press Club (MPC), reached the Bombay High Court on Tuesday (May 19) with Justice Sandesh Patil recusing from hearing the matter.
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Justice Sandesh Patil Recuses From Hearing Mumbai Press Club Appeal In Gurbir Singh Expulsion Case Linked to Bhima-Koregaon

19/05/2026

The Bar Bulletin / by Sakshi Singh

Justice Sandesh Patil, Judge Bombay High Court, has recused from hearing an appeal filed by the Mumbai Press Club challenging an ad-interim order passed in favour of journalist Gurbir Singh, who had been expelled from the Club following controversy over an event attended by Bhima Koregaon accused Varavara Rao and Sudha Bharadwaj.
The dispute arose after the Mumbai Press Club expelled Singh, a member of the Club, over his role in organising an event that featured poet-activist Varavara Rao and lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj, both accused in the Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad case.
Read more

Also read:
▪ NIA Seeks Cancellation of Activists Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj Bail Over Mumbai Press Club Meet (The Wire / May 2026)
▪ Anand Patwardhan: The taming of the Mumbai Press Club (Scroll.in / May 2026)
▪ Mumbai Press Club Suspensions Over Elgar Parishad Accused Visit Spark Row; NIA Inquiry Raises Stakes (The Wire / May 2026)

Indira Jaising sounds alarm on democracy & dissent / India’s Anti-Terror Law and the Punishment of the Unconvicted

19/05/2026 Asha

Two judgments, no single standard: Why terror law UAPA’s bail threshold isn’t a straight line

21/05/2026

The Print / by Sahaj Sankaran

SC’s contradiction over bail in terror cases has revived questions over whether the stringent Watali test or the liberty-focused Najeeb ruling should guide UAPA jurisprudence.
When a two-judge Supreme Court bench Monday criticised a co-ordinate bench’s decision denying bail in January to Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid, both accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the Delhi riots case, the criticism raised a much broader issue: how should courts decide on bail under the anti-terror law?
… In the the 2022 Jyoti Jagtap vs NIA case, the court did not consider Najeeb at all, implicitly arguing that Najeeb had no applicability even though the defendant had been in prison for two years by that point. It took another three years for Jagtap, arrested for her alleged ties to the organisers of the 2017 Elgar Parishad event, to secure bail.
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Not defending civil society judiciary’s biggest failure Advocate Indira Jaising

19/05/2026

The Week / by pti

The judiciary’s inability to protect civil society from persecution is its “biggest failure”, writes senior advocate Indira Jaising in her new book “The Constitution Is My Home”, alleging that political opponents, activists and human rights defenders are being systematically targeted through criminal law.
… Referring to the prosecution of late Delhi University professor G N Saibaba under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), she criticised judicial observations that shifted the focus of criminal law from “overt acts to beliefs and ideas”.
She also criticised the use of the UAPA and the sedition provision under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code against activists and human rights defenders in cases linked to the 2020 Delhi riots and the Bhima Koregaon violence.
Read more

▪ Indira Jaising interview: Senior advocate sounds alarm on democracy & dissent in modern India

en | 19:16min | 2026
Interview by: Kanu Sarda
Camera: Sanjay Ahlawat
Editor: Syam Krishnan

In this exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Indira Jaising discusses her new memoir, The Constitution Is My Home, and shares her thoughts on the biggest constitutional and judicial challenges facing India today. From the Bhima Koregaon case and judicial accountability to women in the Supreme Court and the criminalisation of dissent, Jaising offers a candid and deeply personal reflection on law, democracy and power.
Watch video

India’s Anti-Terror Law and the Punishment of the Unconvicted

19/05/2026

Countercurrents.org / by Utkarsh Mishra

The statistics released by the government paint a troubling picture. From 2019 to 2023, India arrested 10,440 individuals using its strictest anti-terror law, but only 335 were convicted. This number didn’t come from a human rights organisation; it was shared by the Union Home Ministry itself during a session in Parliament in December 2025. The National Crime Records Bureau put together these figures, and it amounts to a mere 3.2% conviction rate.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Voices From Prison | A Legacy Of Detention: Weaponisation Of PDA, TADA, NSA And UAPA Laws Since Independence (Outlook / Jan 2026)
▪ Unlawful: Editorial on the Bhima Koregaon case and denial of liberty under UAPA (The Telegraph / Feb 2026)
▪ Inside the NIA’s ‘Perfect’ Conviction Record: How Coercive Detentions Are Driving Guilty Pleas (The Wire / Dec 2025)
▪ Justice On Hold: How India’s Trial Courts Are Creating a New Class of Political Prisoners—Those Accused Of ‘Terrorism’ (article 14 / Dec 2025)
▪ Legal experts call for a repeal of UAPA over misuse and rights violations (Frontline / May 2024)

▪ Report: UAPA – CRIMINALISING DISSENT AND STATE TERROR (PUCL / Sep 2022)
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NIA Seeks Cancellation of Activists Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj Bail Over Mumbai Press Club Meet

15/05/2026 Asha

Elgar Parishad Case: NIA Seeks Cancellation of Activists Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj Bail Over Mumbai Press Club Meet

15/04/2026

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

The NIA told a special court that the January gathering at the club violated a bail condition that bars communication between co-accused in the case, which has gone on for nearly eight years without trial.
Weeks after the Mumbai Press Club created a controversy over defendants in the Elgar Parishad case visiting the club, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has now swooped in. The central agency, which is handling the controversial 2018 case, on Thursday, May 15, sought cancellation of the bail granted to two accused – Telugu poet-activist Varavara Rao and lawyer-academic Sudha Bharadwaj.
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Bhima Koregaon case: NIA seeks cancellation of bail for activists Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj

15/04/2026

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The agency alleged that they violated their bail conditions by taking part in a meeting at the Mumbai Press Club, where other accused persons were present.
The National Investigation Agency on Friday moved a special court in Mumbai seeking that the bail granted to activists Varavara Rao and Sudha Bharadwaj in the Bhima Koregaon case be cancelled.
The court has directed the activists to respond to the applications, The Indian Express reported.
Read more

NIA seeks cancellation of bail granted to Sudha Bharadwaj and Varavara Rao in Elgar Case

15/04/2026

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Agency alleges violation of bail conditions over Mumbai Press Club event; court to hear matter on May 22
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday moved an application before a special court here seeking cancellation of bail granted to activists Sudha Bharadwaj and Varavara Rao in the Elgar Parishad–Maoist links case, alleging violation of bail conditions.
Bharadwaj was granted bail on technical grounds in 2021, while Rao was released from prison a year later.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Bombay HC Grants Relief To Mumbai Press Club, Restores Gurbir Singh’s Expulsion Pending Hearing (Free Press Journal / May 2026)
▪ Anand Patwardhan: The taming of the Mumbai Press Club (Scroll.in / May 2026)
▪ Mumbai Press Club Suspensions Over Elgar Parishad Accused Visit Spark Row; NIA Inquiry Raises Stakes (The Wire / May 2026)
▪ Varavara Rao told to remain in Mumbai, not to make statement on case to media (The Indian Express / Aug 2022)
▪ Activist Sudha Bharadwaj walks out of jail after over three years (Scroll.in / Dec 2021)

‘Heads Held High’: Gautam Navlakha and Sahba Husain on Life Two Years After Bail

14/05/2026 Asha

Bail ! Gautam with his partner Sabha Husain. May 2024.

The Wire / by Mekhala Saran

‘Jail is not just a microcosm of society, but it also mimics the social hierarchy and divisions outside.’
Early afternoon sunlight floods into Sahba Husain and Gautam Navlakha’s home, which is full of books and art, and cool and airy even in the Delhi summer.
When I visit them, a little ahead of the second anniversary of Navlakha’s bail (May 14), I ask them if I can photograph them, by the entrance of their flat, in front of a painting of a bird in flight. My hope is to recreate a photograph from six years ago, clicked in April 2020, right before Navlakha, then a 68-year-old human rights activist, was compelled to surrender before the National Investigation Agency.
Read more

Also read:
▪ NIA court rejects Varavara Rao’s plea to permanently relocate to his hometown of Hyderabad (Times of India / March 2026)
▪ ‘I have empirical basis… I stand by what I’ve written, I’ve no regrets’: Gautam Navlakha (The Indian Express / Feb 2026)
▪ Voices From Prison: In The Isolation of the Anda Ward, We Dared To Sing, Writes Gautam Navlakha (Outlook / Jan 2026)
▪ Bombay High Court allows Gautam Navlakha to return to Delhi, relaxes restrictive bail condition in Bhima Koregaon Case (Sabrang India / Dec 2025)
▪ THE BK-16 PRISON DIARIES SERIES (THE POLIS PROJECT / JUNE 2024)

To mark six years of the arbitrary arrests and imprisonment of political dissidents in the Bhima Koregaon case, The Polis Project is publishing a series of writings by the BK-16, and their families, friends and partners. By describing various aspects of the past six years, the series offers a glimpse into the BK-16’s lives inside prison, as well as the struggles of their loved ones outside. Each piece in the series is complemented by Arun Ferreira’s striking and evocative artwork.

INTRODUCING THE BK-16 PRISON DIARIES SERIES (THE POLIS PROJECT / JUNE 2024)