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After Two Justices Recuse From Hearing Case, Chief Justice Agrees To Constitute New Bench

After Two Justices Recuse From Hearing Case, Chief Justice Agrees To Constitute New Bench

After Justices PB Varale And SS Shinde Recuse From Hearing Bhima Koregaon Case, Chief Justice Agrees To Constitute New Bench

25/02/2022

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

After two judges recused themselves from hearing petitions arising out of the Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad Case, Chief Justice Dipankar Datta of the Bombay high Court said a third bench would be constituted to hear the cases at the earliest.
After Justice PB Varale’s bench, that has the criminal assignment, recused from hearing matters earlier this month, the alternate bench of Justice SS Shinde also recused from taking up petitions connected to the case.
Justice Shinde, however, will hear the interim application filed by Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira and Varavara Rao seeking bail and factual corrections in his order refusing them default bail.
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Judge recuses from Elgar Parishad cases, new bench to hear pleas

25/02/2022

India Today / by Vidya

The new Bench, comprising Justice SB Shukre and AB Borkar, will hear all pleas related to the Elgar Parishad from here on.
Anew Bench of the Bombay High Court will now hear all the pleas related to the Elgar Parishad case after a judge recused himself from the case in which several arrests have been made since 2018.
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Jusitce SS Shinde of Bombay High Court Recuses hearing Bhima Koregaon cases

24/02/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

Sources told Bar & Bench that Justice Shinde will continue hearing the plea filed by three accused in the case seeking review of his own judgment refusing them default bail; however, he has recused from other cases.
Justice Shinde will be releasing a circular/notification to that effect shortly, sources have told Bar and Bench.
After such circular/notification is issued, the respective lawyers representing the 15 accused in the case, will have to move the Chief Justice of the High Court on administrative side to get a new Bench constituted for hearing the petitions arising from the 2018 case.
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‘Speeches were very provocative’: Police officer about the Elgar Parishad

‘Speeches were very provocative’: Police officer about the Elgar Parishad

Rediff.com / by Jyoti Punwani

The senior police officer, who deposed in such detail about the Elgar Parishad, however, claimed to know nothing about the opposition to it from organisations such as Milind Ekbote’s Samastha Hindu Aghadi as well as Pune’s then mayor Mukta Tilak.
The speeches made by Umar Khalid, Jignesh Mewani, Prashant Dhontha and Sudhir Dhawale at the Elgar Parishad were provocative, but the pledge administered at the end of the Parishad to the audience, to ‘protect the Constitution and never vote for opponents of the Constitution, the RSS and BJP’, was not objectionable.
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Also read:
● Bhima Koregaon: Is Milind Ekbote Being Protected? (Rediff.com / Feb 2022)
● Let’s Remember the Lesson of Bhima Koregaon: Down with the New Peshwai (Sanhati│by Sudhir Dhawale│March 2018)

NIA opposes default bail plea filed by Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves & Arun Ferreira in Bombay HC

NIA opposes default bail plea filed by Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves & Arun Ferreira in Bombay HC

Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira

NIA opposes default bail plea in Bombay HC, cites embargo on review

24/02/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The NIA stated that the review petition filed by Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira is barred by law as they were seeking an alteration or review of the final judgment passed by the High Court.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has opposed the plea filed by three accused in the Bhima Koregaon case before the Bombay High Court seeking review of the judgment refusing them default bail [P Varavara Rao & Ors. v. State of Maharashtra & Anr.]
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S.362 CrPC Puts An Embargo’: NIA Opposes Plea Filed By Bhima Koregaon Accused Seeking Review Of Bombay HC’s Judgement Refusing Default Bail

24/02/2022

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim
The National Investigation Agency has sought dismissal of the application filed by Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira seeking bail and factual corrections in the Bombay High Court’s order refusing them default bail.
In their reply tendered to the Bombay High Court, the agency cited the embargo under section 362 of CrPC to alter or review judgements once a petition is decided on merits.
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Also read:
● Vernon Gonsalves, Varavara Rao & Arun Ferreira File Review Application In Bombay High Court, Seek Default Bail (Live Law / Feb 2022)

Lawyer seeks examination of cop who probed Elgaar Parishad case

Lawyer seeks examination of cop who probed Elgaar Parishad case

Lawyer seeks examination of cop who probed Elgaar Parishad case

24/02/2022

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

Elgaar Parishad was a conclave held on December 31, 2017 ahead of the 200th commemoration of the battle of Koregaon Bhima.
Senior lawyer B A Desai on Wednesday asked the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry to call police officer Shivaji Pawar, who investigated the Elgaar Parishad case, to depose as a witness. The two-member commission headed by retired judge, Justice J N Patel, is probing the causes of violence in Koregaon Bhima area in which a person was killed and many others were injured.
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Sharad Pawar not to appear before probe commission on Feb. 23 and 24

22/02/2022

The Hindu / by Shoumojit Banerjee

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar will not be able to appear before the commission appointed by the Maharashtra government to probe the 2018 Bhima Koregaon clashes on February 23 and 24. He has accordingly conveyed the same to the commission, Maharashtra Minister and NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said on Tuesday.
Mr. Malik, who gave this information in a video statement, said the NCP chief would “definitely” appear before the probe panel in future to record his version of events.
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Also read:
● The Mystery of Fadnavis’ Terms of Reference – Jyoti Punwani reports from the Bhima Koregaon Commission hearing (Rediff.com / Dec 2021)

NIA Court refused bail to 4 accused [read orders]

NIA Court refused bail to 4 accused [read orders]

Hany Babu, Sagar Gorkhe,  Jyoti Jagtap, Ramesh Gaichor

Plan to end Modi raj with Rajiv Gandhi type incident and other reasons NIA Court refused bail to 4 accused [read orders]

22/02/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

Special NIA Judge rejected regular bail applications of Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor, Jyoti Jagtap and Associate Professor Hany Babu.
The Special Court under National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act rejected bail applications of four accused in the Bhima Koregaon case of 2018 relying upon a letter written by the accused which mentioned about ending the Modi-raj in the country.
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No bail; ‘prima facie evidence Hany Babu part of Maoist outfit’: NIA Court

22/02/2022

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

“The same can be said to be sufficient to prima facie establish that the applicant was instrumental for the release of convict G N Saibaba, who was convicted for the activities of the CPI (M),” special Judge Dinesh E Kothalikar said in the detailed order made available on Monday.
IN ITS detailed order rejecting bail to Delhi University associate professor Hany Babu, a special court has said that there is prima facie evidence that he was ‘actively involved’ in activities of banned organisation, CPI (Maoist).
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No hesitation to prima facie conclude that applicant was actively involved in activities of banned organisation: NIA Court

21/02/2022

Free Press Journal / by Staff Reporter

A special court that last week denied bail to Delhi University’s associate professor Hany Babu, an accused in the Elgar Parishad – Bhima Koregaon case, has said in its detailed order that if material on record is taken into consideration, there would be no hesitation to prima facie conclude that he was actively involved in activities of the banned organisation.
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Special NIA Court rejects former CM Fadnavis’ statement as evidence, denies bail to three Bhima Koregaon accused

19/02/2022

The Leaflet / by The Leaflet

A special National Investigative Agency (NIA) court denied bail on Monday to three persons accused in the Bhima Koregaon (Elgar Parishad) case and declined to consider former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ statement in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.  The court, while denying bail, maintained that the accused hatched a “serious conspiracy” to create unrest in the country.
The three accused — Jyoti Jagtap, Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor — are musical performers, anti-caste activists and members of the cultural troupe Kabir Kala Manch.
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Also read:
● They were accused of plotting to overthrow the Modi government. The evidence was planted, a new report says (Washington Post / Feb 2021)
● The many plots to assassinate Narendra Modi (The Caravan / Sep 2018)

International Mother Language Day: Take Action for Hany Babu

International Mother Language Day: Take Action for Hany Babu

By PEN International

On 21 February each year, PEN International joins worldwide observations of International Mother Language Day, which celebrates the importance of linguistic diversity around world.
This year, PEN International calls for the release of linguistics scholar and activist Hany Babu (India), who has been unjustly detained by the Indian authorities as part of the government’s wider crackdown on dissidents and advocates for the rights of marginalised communities in India…

Take action
PEN International considers Hany Babu’s detention and that of his fellow activists a breach of their right to freedom of expression, and calls for their immediate and unconditional release.
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Also watch:

Video: Language and the Problems of Justice


en | 3h5min | 2021

By Field Linguistics JNU

An Online Conference to mark one year of Hany Babu’s imprisonment
Watch video

How Modi has Depressed Indian Democracy

How Modi has Depressed Indian Democracy

Intpolicydigest.org / by Manas Nag

In July of last year, Stan Swamy, a prominent tribal rights activist, passed away at a hospital in Mumbai. The 84-year-old became India’s oldest political prisoner and remained in custody for eight months while his bail plea on medical grounds was repeatedly rejected. Riddled with Parkinson’s disease, Swamy’s health deteriorated to the point where he could not feed himself. He was eventually moved to a hospital in May where he contracted COVID-19. Swamy was charged and arrested in 2020 under a draconian anti-terror law called the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) – an accusation he categorically denied.
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NIA court allows ED to question Gautam Navlakha in Newsclick “case”

NIA court allows ED to question Gautam Navlakha in Newsclick “case”

Hindustan Times / by Vinay Dalvi

The judge also directed the superintendent of Taloja prison to cooperate with the officers and make arrangements for the same.
A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court has allowed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to record the statement of human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Elgar Parishad – Maoist link case, at Taloja Jail from Wednesday to Friday.
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Also read:
● Income Tax department ‘surveys’ Newsclick, Newslaundry in tax case (Economic Times / Sep 2021)
● ‘Intimidatory and Blatant Attack’: Editors Guild on IT ‘Survey’ at NewsClick, Newslaundry (The Wire / Sep 2021)

Court allows Gadling access to ayurvedic medicines, table & chair / Surendra’s Prison Song

Court allows Gadling access to ayurvedic medicines, table & chair / Surendra’s Prison Song

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Gadling had submitted that his son had brought ayurvedic medicines for him in November but the Taloja Jail superintendent did not allow him access to those.
A special court has allowed lawyer Surendra Gadling, an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case, access to ayurvedic medicines as well as a table and chair to study for his defence.
Gadling had submitted that his son had brought ayurvedic medicines for him in November but the Taloja Jail superintendent did not allow him access to those. He submitted that the court had, in 2018, permitted him to carry the prescribed medicines to prison. 
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Also watch:
Video: The Prison Song of Surendra Gadling

hindi | 11min | 2021
In August, when human rights lawyer Surendra Gadling was released on interim bail for a week, he made a quick visit to the Nagpur sessions court to meet his colleagues and friends. 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.
Watch video

Bhide’s role in Bhima-Koregaon violence case cannot be established, Pune cops tell MSHRC

Bhide’s role in Bhima-Koregaon violence case cannot be established, Pune cops tell MSHRC

Free Press Journal / by Narsi Benwal

The Pune police informed the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC) on Thursday that for lack of evidence it hadn’t named right-wing leader Manohar Bhide alias Sambhaji Bhide in the Bhima-Koregaon violence case. The commission accordingly adjourned the matter for final hearing till March 29, when it is likely to decide the compensation to be paid to Bhide.
Read more

Also read:
● Bhima Koregaon: Is Milind Ekbote Being Protected? (Rediff.com / Feb 2022)