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Youngest accused Mahesh Raut and Jyoti Jagtap move special court for bail

Youngest accused Mahesh Raut and Jyoti Jagtap move special court for bail

Youngest accused Mahesh Raut and Jyoti Jagtap move special court for bail

17/11/2021

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

Mahesh Raut and Jyoti Jagtap, two of the youngest accused in the case from 2018 have approached the Mumbai Sessions Court seeking regular bail.
Two of the youngest accused in the Bhima Koregaon case from 2018, Mahesh Raut (34) and Jyoti Jagtap (32), have approached the Mumbai Sessions Court seeking regular bail. This is Jagtap’s first bail application.
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Special NIA court begins hearing bail applications of the youngest accused

17/11/2021

India Today / by Vidya

A Special NIA court began hearing bail applications of two of the youngest accused in the 2018 Elgar Parishad case on Wednesday.
One of the accused in the case, Mahesh Raut has filed a bail plea which was argued by advocate Vijay Hiremath…
Apart from these two accused, Hany Babu, Ramesh Gaichor and Sagar Gorkhe’s bail pleas will also come up for hearing.
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Unable to pay rent, Varavara Rao to shift to an ashram-like facility behind Shah Rukh Khan’s Mannat

Unable to pay rent, Varavara Rao to shift to an ashram-like facility behind Shah Rukh Khan’s Mannat

India Today / by Vidya

Telugu poet Varavara Rao, an accused in the 2018 Elgar Parishad case, told the special NIA court in Mumbai on Tuesday that he was shifting from a high society flat in Mumbai to an ashram-like facility in Bandra as he was unable to afford rent.
Advocate Niraj Yadav, appearing for Rao, said his client would shift to an ashram-like facility which is right behind actor Shah Rukh Khan’s bungalow, Mannat.
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Kin harried as phone calls of undertrials discontinued

Kin harried as phone calls of undertrials discontinued

‘Emotional Torture’: Why Don’t Indian Jails Give Inmates a Right to Phone Calls?

16/11/2021

The Quint / by Vakasha Sachdev

With pandemic restrictions easing, many states are once more taking away the option to call families and lawyers.
Dear Reader,
The Indian criminal justice system is plagued by apathy, indifference and indeed, injustice. This story is The Quint’s effort to ensure that the many everyday tragedies of this system do not remain mere statistics. It’s the story of Archana, who will have to travel for eight hours and wait in line for as long, to meet her imprisoned brother Vinod for 5-7 minutes. Of Sahba, whose partner Gautam is an undertrial in a jail in a different part of the country, who will no longer be allowed to speak to him on the phone.
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Kin harried as phone calls of undertrials discontinued

15/11/2021

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

The prison department has decided to discontinue phone calls and video calls from prisoners after physical mulaqats (meetings) were resumed last month.
It has been a month since Sahba Husain spoke to her partner, Gautam Navlakha, lodged at Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai as an undertrial in the Elgaar Parishad case. Husain is one of the many family members affected by the decision by the Maharashtra prison department to discontinue phone calls and video calls from prisoners after physical mulaqats (meetings) were resumed last month.
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Milind Teltumbde’s alleged Pune links / Elgar Parishad deny links with Maoists

Milind Teltumbde’s alleged Pune links / Elgar Parishad deny links with Maoists

Slain Maoist leader Milind Teltumbde’s Pune links include ‘organising Naxal camp’

16/11/2021

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

Records with the Maharashtra Police also show that Milind Teltumbde was involved in recruiting city youths for the Maoist movement.
From organising a 15-day residential ‘Naxal camp’ in Pune, recruiting city youths for the Maoist movement and being named an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case, top CPI-Maoist leader Milind Teltumbde, who was killed in an encounter with security forces in Gadchiroli, was known to be active in Pune and surrounding areas, as per Maharashtra Police records.
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Who was Milind Teltumbde, Maoist leader killed in Gadchiroli encounter

14/11/2021

The Indian Express / by Vivek Deshpande

“Teltumbde was the main financier of the Bhima-Koregaon programme organised in Pune three years ago,” said a former senior police officer.
Top Maoist leader Milind Teltumbde, who had a reward of Rs 50 lakh on his head, was among the 26 Naxals killed in a fierce encounter with the police in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district on Saturday.
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‘They want fascist forces to reign’: Retired judges who organised Pune’s Elgaar Parishad speak out

01/09/2018

Scroll.in / by Aarefa Johari

Justices BG Kolse-Patil and PB Sawant say they were the main organisers and sole funders of the event held a day before violence broke out at Bhima Koregaon.
According to the Pune police, the event was organised by members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), with the aim of “spreading rebellious thoughts”, instigating violence at Bhima Koregaon and establishing a nationwide “anti-fascist front” to “wage war against the government”.
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Fr Swamy silenced over India’s coal and Adivasi

Fr Swamy silenced over India’s coal and Adivasi

AsiaNews / by Giorgio Bernardelli

The Jesuit clergyman, who died in Mumbai after nine months in detention, wrote a scathing article against the Indian government’s policy of auctioning off 41 coal mines to private interests. India’s coal is front-page news in the wake of COP26 in Glasgow.
Fr Stan Swamy was a prophetic voice when he spoke about coal mines in India, an issue that is front-page news around the world.
That voice was first silenced with prison, then extinguished at the age of 83 when he died last July from the consequences of his detention.
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Father Stan’s fight goes beyond his death, says his lawyer

Father Stan’s fight goes beyond his death, says his lawyer


Bangalore, July 2021

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Father Stan Swamy’s fight goes on, even beyond his death, said lawyer Mihir Desai, who represented the Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist in the Elgaar Parishad case.
The 84-year-old Swamy died undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Mumbai in July while he was under judicial custody. He was booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Elgaar Parishad case.
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Maoist leader linked to ‘plot to kill PM Modi’ arrested in Jharkhand

Maoist leader linked to ‘plot to kill PM Modi’ arrested in Jharkhand

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

Prashant Bose, wanted in several criminal cases, is the secretary of the CPI (Maoist) eastern regional bureau.
Top CPI (Maoist) leader Prashant Bose alias Kishan Da, who was recently arrested by Jharkhand Police, is one of the many accused named in the Elgaar Parishad case. Bose was named in connection with a “Maoist communication” that allegedly mentioned a plot to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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Also read:
● The unravelling of a conspiracy: were the 16 charged with plotting to kill India’s prime minister framed? (The Guardian / Aug 2021)
● Explainer: Arsenal Report on Surendra Gadling (The Leaflet / Jul 2021)
● They were accused of plotting to overthrow the Modi government. The evidence was planted, a new report says. (Washington Post / Feb 2021)

Online event: Day of the Imprisoned Writer: Varavara Rao and İlhan Sami Çomak (Nov 15)

Online event: Day of the Imprisoned Writer: Varavara Rao and İlhan Sami Çomak (Nov 15)

By The Freedom to Write Committee of Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann

The Freedom to Write Committee of Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann is honoured to celebrate the life and work of the renowned poets, Varavara Rao (India) and İlhan Sami Çomak (Turkey), on the occasion of the International Day of the Imprisoned Writer.
Read more / register

Also read:
• Why Suppressing Varavara Rao’s Poetry Furthers His Incarceration (The Swaddle / Nov 2021)
• Varavara Rao need not surrender before jail officials until November 18, says HC (Scroll.in / Oct 27, 2021)

UAPA: Lawyers Challenge Sections Defining ‘Unlawful Activities’ as Vague

UAPA: Lawyers Challenge Sections Defining ‘Unlawful Activities’ as Vague


Drawing by Arun Ferreira

UAPA: Lawyers Challenge Sections Defining ‘Unlawful Activities’ as Vague

12/11/2021

Gauri Lankesh News / by Grauri Lankesh News Desk

The unlawful activities are defined in such a vague manner to make its application solely on the discretion of police machinery, say the petitioners.
The petition has been filed by two advocates and one journalist, who have been booked under UAPA in connection with their social media posts and work related to the recent communal violence in Tripura …
Many eminent lawyers and activists also petitioned against sections of UAPA
Bhima Koregaon accused Anand Teltumbde has filed a petition before the Bombay High Court challenging Section 43D of UAPA on bail as well as misuse of the term “front organisation” by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
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As the police reach increasingly for draconian UAPA, are the courts pushing back?

11/11/2021

Scroll.in / by Umang Poddar

There have been a few instances recently of the courts granting bail to people accused under the anti-terror law.
… Over the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of cases against the government’s critics under the UAPA, a harsh law that was passed to deal with terrorist activities and actions such as inciting secession or disrupting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.
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Tracing The Footprints Of National Security Vis-À-Vis Fundamental Rights

11/11/2021

Live Law / by Kaustubh Tiwari

… It has been a sorry state of affairs for fundamental rights in the courts when the word national security is uttered by the government like in the Rafael, Bhima- Koregaon and Rohingya Refugee matters. The court’s dilettante disposition for fundamentals rights is quite conspicuously reflected by its own line of decisions. This being a persistent notoriety of the courts in India, it is time- warranted that the Supreme Court needs to find the correct opportunity to rectify the judicial alacrity to uphold provisions of law highly repugnant to fundamental rights when place against national security concerns and craft a balancing approach whereby fundamentals rights and the security of the state both can peacefully co-exist.
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Also read:
● Anand Teltumbde Moves Bombay High Court Challenging Stringent Bail Conditions & ‘Vague Terminology’ In UAPA (Live Law / Sep 2021)

Why Suppressing Varavara Rao’s Poetry Furthers His Incarceration

Why Suppressing Varavara Rao’s Poetry Furthers His Incarceration


Campaign poster, Sep 2021

Why Suppressing Varavara Rao’s Poetry Furthers His Incarceration

11/11/2021

The Swaddle / by Rohitha Naraharisetty

Varavara Rao, a Telugu poet and activist who is currently incarcerated under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, is seeing his voice being stifled even outside the prison system.
Varavara Rao has and continues to be, among the most persecuted poets in Indian history. He founded the literary magazine Srujana and was deeply involved with the Revolutionary Writers’ Association. His work revolved around prison violence, labor struggles, and human rights.
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Adverse legal opinion behind delay in releasing Varavara Rao’s book

11/11/2021

The Telegraph / by Pheroze L. Vincent

Last October, Penguin Random House India had announced that an english translation of his Telegu poems would be published under its Vintage imprint in 2021.
The publication of the English translation of a collection of Telugu poems by P. Varavara Rao, the Hyderabad activist facing trial in the Elgar Parishad “terrorism” case, has been delayed because of adverse legal opinion the publisher is said to have received.
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Penguin’s Varavara Rao book in limbo? Co-editors say they have faith in publisher

10/11/2021

The News Minute / by Balakrishna Ganeshan

Is Penguin planning to indefinitely postpone the release of ‘Varavara Rao: The Revolutionary Poet’ – a collection of poems by the revolutionary poet translated into English? The co-editors of the book have said that they have faith that the publisher, Penguin, wouldn’t do this. In a joint statement issued on Tuesday, November 10, journalist and translator N Venugopal, and writer and poet Meena Kandasamy, said that they trust publisher Penguin Randomhouse India, to publish the book, which is a compilation of 65 poems written by Varavara Rao.
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‘Legal Row’: Penguin Censors Poems, Then Stalls Varavara Rao’s Book Indefinitely

09/11/2021

The Quint / by Nikhila Henry

Penguin Random House was expected to publish Varavara Rao’s collection of poems in June or July 2021.
Telugu poet Varavara Rao was 20 years old when he started penning poems. Six decades on, the 81-year-old poet’s lifelong work is now in limbo as Penguin Random House has stalled the publication of a collection of his poems, citing its concerns about the “nature of charges” levelled against him, The Quint has learnt.
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by Meena Kandasamy (Nov 9, 2021)

Click to enlarge

Penguin stalls Varavara Rao book over ‘nature of charges’ against him: Quint

09/11/2021

Newslaundry / by NL Team

The publication of Telugu poet Varavara Rao’s collection of poems has been put on hold by Penguin Random House, with the publisher citing its concerns about the “nature of charges” levelled against him, according to a report in the Quint.
The 81-year-old poet, who was arrested along with other activists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in November 2018 for his alleged role in the Bhima Koregaon violence, is out on medical grounds and stationed in Mumbai.
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ONLINE EVENT: DAY OF THE IMPRISONED WRITER:
VARAVARA RAO AND İLHAN SAMI ÇOMAK (NOV 15)

The Freedom to Write Committee of Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann is honoured to celebrate the life and work of the renowned poets, Varavara Rao (India) and İlhan Sami Çomak (Turkey), on the occasion of the International Day of the Imprisoned Writer.
Read more / register