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Members of Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry visit ‘Jaystambh’ with Elgaar Parishad activist

Members of Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry visit ‘Jaystambh’ with Elgaar Parishad activist

Booklet: “Salaakhon Mein Qaid Avaazein” (Access PDF)

Members of Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry visit ‘Jaystambh’ with Elgaar Parishad activist

10/01/2026

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

Activist Potdar is among the organisers of the Elgaar Parishad—a conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of battle of Koregaon Bhima.
Members of the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry, along with activist Harshali Potdar and lawyers representing different parties, visited the ‘Jaystambh’ at Perne village in Pune district on Friday.
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If Sharad Pawar wrote any letter seeking SIT probe into Koregaon Bhima riot, it must be with CMO: Uddhav

09/01/2026

Times of India /by Vishwas Kothari

Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray filed an affidavit with the Koregaon Bhima inquiry commission in Pune stating that NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar’s letter, if any, written to him in his capacity as the CM in Jan 2020, and demanding an SIT probe into the Jan 1, 2018, riot at Koregaon Bhima, has to be with the CMO now.
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CMO should have Sharad Pawar’s letter blaming Fadnavis govt for Koregaon Bhima violence: Uddhav Thackeray

09/01/2026

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

Ambedkar’s lawyer Kiran Kadam said he would be soon filing a fresh application requesting the commission to issue a notice to the CMO for producing the said letter.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray submitted an affidavit before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry through his lawyer Asim Sarode on Thursday, in connection with an application filed by Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar.
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Bhima Koregaon violence probe: Sharad Pawar’s letters should be with CMO, Uddhav Thackeray tells inquiry panel

08/01/2026

Midday / by mid-day online correspondent

The commission had issued a notice to Thackeray in October 2025, asking him to produce documents and letters allegedly submitted by Sharad Pawar during Uddhav Thackeray’s tenure as Maharashtra Chief Minister
Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray has informed the inquiry commission probing the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence that certain letters written by NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar should still be available with the current Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), reported the PTI.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Koregaon Bhima Probe: Spotlight on Uddhav Thackeray (Pune Mirror / Oct 2025)
▪ Bhima Koregaon commission gets 18th extension (Hindustan Times / Aug 2025)
▪ Why caste Hindutva, not an Elgar conspiracy, is at the root of the Bhima Koregaon violence (The Polis Project / Feb 2025)
▪ Book Excerpt | How Bhima Koregaon Became a Trope for Dalit Pride and Assertion (The Wire / June 2024)
▪ Top Investigating Officer Admits Elgar Parishad Event ‘Had No Role’ in Bhima Koregaon Violence (The Wire / Dec 2022)
▪ Ekbote instigated Koregaon Bhima violence, Elgaar Parishad organiser tells panel (The Indian Express / Sep 2021)
▪ India’s Hindu Nationalist Project Relies on Brutal Repression (Jacobinmag / April 2021)
▪ Mumbai Police ‘Arrests’ Potdar for Sharing a Facebook Post, Releases Her in Few Hours (The Wire / Jan 2021)

In Photos: Lakhs Gather To Mark The Battle Of Bhima Koregaon / Dalit Assertion, and the Politics of Public Memory

In Photos: Lakhs Gather To Mark The Battle Of Bhima Koregaon / Dalit Assertion, and the Politics of Public Memory

In Photos: Lakhs Gather at ‘Jaystambh’ to Mark the Anniversary of Battle of Bhima Koregaon

02/01/2026

The Wire / by Atul Howale

On January 1, 2018, violence had broken out on the same anniversary, at Bhima Koregaon. Several writers, academics, lawyers and other intellectuals were arrested in connection with the case.
On Thursday, January 1, 2026, lakhs of followers gathered around the ‘Jaystambh’ in Pune, Maharashtra, to mark the 208th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. Every year, it is customary for Ambedkarite followers from Maharashtra and across different parts of the country to visit the site.
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Bhima Koregaon, Dalit Assertion, and the Politics of Public Memory

02/01/2026

The Mooknayak / by Dr. Vikrant Kishore

Bhima Koregaon is not about settling the past. It is about insisting on a present in which Dalit dignity, memory, and presence are taken seriously.
Bhima Koregaon occupies a distinctive place in contemporary Dalit public life, not because it offers a settled historical consensus, but because it allows Dalits to gather, remember, and assert themselves in public without mediation. Each year on 1 January, large numbers of Dalits travel to the village near Pune to commemorate the 1818 battle and to mark what has come to be known as Shaurya Diwas. For many observers, the scale and persistence of this gathering remain puzzling.
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Why 1818 Bhima Koregaon battle marks a flashpoint in 2026 Maharashtra civic polls

01/01/2026

The Indian Express / by Zeeshan Shaikh

Some parties are keen to be seen at this January 1 anniversary event during the election season, viewing it as a symbol of Dalit pride, constitutional values and social justice, while some others would stay away from it
As political parties in Maharashtra intensify their campaigns for the January 15 municipal corporation elections, a major public event is set to take place at Bhima Koregaon, a small village near Pune, on Thursday, which would be one of the state’s largest and most politically sensitive gatherings.
Every year on January 1, lakhs of Dalits assemble at Bhima Koregaon to mark the anniversary of the 1818 battle that they regard as a historic assertion against caste oppression.
Read more

Lakhs Gather At Jaystambh To Commemorate Battle Of Bhima Koregaon

01/01/2026

Free Press Journal / by FPJ Web Deshk

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar and many other leaders paid tributes at the Jaystambh
As in previous years, lakhs of people gathered at the Jaystambh in Perne village at Bhima Koregaon in Pune district on Thursday to pay tribute on the 208th anniversary of the battle of Bhima Koregaon.
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How Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s 1927 Bhima Koregaon Visit Turned New Year’s Day into Shaurya Diwas for the Bahujan

31/12/2025

The Mooknayak / by Geeta Sunil Pillai

What was once a marginal British commemoration morphed into an annual Dalit-Bahujan ritual. Followers began gathering at the Vijay Stambh every January 1, honoring the fallen with floral tributes, “Jai Bhim” chants, and recitations of the Constitution’s Preamble.
As the clock strikes midnight tonight, millions across India will usher in 2026 not just with fireworks and celebrations, but with a profound act of remembrance and resistance. For the Bahujan community, encompassing Dalits, Adivasis, and other marginalized groups, January 1 is no ordinary New Year’s Day. It is Shaurya Diwas, or Valour Day, commemorating the 1818 Battle of Bhima Koregaon and the transformative legacy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.
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Ambedkar, among others, at the Vijay Stambhain Bhima Koregaon, January 1, 1927. Pic credits: Wikipedia

Also read:
▪ Beating Brahminism The Way 500 Soldiers of Bhima Koregaon Did (Velivada / Dec 2025)
▪ Alternative reading of Bhima Koregaon: A Maharashtra outfit is trying to advance Dalit cause from Hindutva orbit (The Indian Express / Apr 2025)
▪ Why caste Hindutva, not an Elgar conspiracy, is at the root of the Bhima Koregaon violence (The Polis Project / Feb 2025)
▪ 7 Years Later, Bhima Koregaon Revisited (Rediff.com / Jan 2025)
▪ Book Excerpt | How Bhima Koregaon Became a Trope for Dalit Pride and Assertion (The Wire │ by Ajaz Ashraf │ June 2024)
▪ Let’s Remember the Lesson of Bhima Koregaon: Down with the New Peshwai (Sanhati │ by Sudhir Dhawale │ March 2018)
▪ Remembering the oppressed: In Mauritius, thinking about the battle of Bhima Koregaon (Scroll.in / Dec 2018)
▪ Why peoples’ coalitions are uniting against Hindutva — the ‘new Peshwai’ (Dailyo.in │ by Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves │ Jan 2018)
▪ The Myth of Bhima Koregaon Reinforces the Identities It Seeks to Transcend (The Wire | Anand Teltumbde | Jan 2018)
▪ Bhima Koregaon: Dalits in Search of Icons from History (Clarion / Jan 2018)

‘No one dies in prison, They die on the way to hospital’

‘No one dies in prison, They die on the way to hospital’

Drawing by Arun Ferreira

Times of India / by Akshay Bhagwat

Hany Babu entered Navi Mumbai’s Taloja prison in July 2020. Anand Teltumbde followed the same year. Babu spent five years inside before being released on bail; Teltumbde was released on bail; Teltumbde was released in 2022 after spending about two-and-a-half years in prison. Neither has faced trial.
According to the India Justice Report 2025, undertrials now account for around 75% of India’s prison population.
Read more

Also read:
▪ My Imprisonment Part of Scheme to Suppress Dissent, Intimidate Academics: DU Prof Hany Babu (Hindustan Gazette / Dec 2025)
▪ I realised that through Allah I can have the strength to face what was before me: Hany Babu (Frontline / Dec 2025)
▪ Taloja Jail: Lives Fading in Silence Behind Iron Walls (Outlook | by Sudhir Dhawale | Sep 2025)
▪ I saw firsthand how callous prison officials and their negligence led to Stan Swamy’s death (Scroll.in | by Arun Ferreira | Jul 2025)
▪ Inside Taloja Prison: A Study | By Mahesh Raut (Outlook / May 2025)
▪ BK-16 Prison Diaries: The ‘ordinary’ in extraordinary times: A captive’s life in Covid-19 (The Polis Project | by Gautam Navlakha | May 2025)
▪ In Taloja Central Jail, interviews with over 300 undertrial prisoners show denial of rights (The Leaflet | by Hany Babu & Surendra Gadling | Mar 2025)
▪ BK-16 Prison Diaries: Sagar Gorkhe on his battle to survive Taloja jail’s brutality (The Polis Project | by Sagar Gorkhe | Feb 2025)
▪ Ramesh Gaichor on the Elgar prisoners’ defiance of the neo-Peshwai prison system (The Polis Project | by Ramesh Gaichor | Sep 2024)
▪ Some personal reflections on prison medical care (The Leaflet | by Vernon Gonsalves | Apr 2024)

Beating Brahminism The Way 500 Soldiers of Bhima Koregaon Did

Beating Brahminism The Way 500 Soldiers of Bhima Koregaon Did

Booklet: “Salaakhon Mein Qaid Avaazein” (Access PDF)

Beating Brahminism The Way 500 Soldiers of Bhima Koregaon Did

29/12/2025

Velivada / by Velivada

For most of the world, January 1 represents the start of a new calendar year. But for the Dalit-Bahujan community in India, January 1 is Shaurya Din (Day of Valour). It marks the anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon (1818), where 500 soldiers of the Mahar community, fighting under the British East India Company, delivered a crushing blow to the 28,000-strong army of Peshwa Baji Rao II.
This was not merely a military skirmish between a colonial power and a local kingdom. It was a war of liberation – a historic reckoning where the oppressed took up arms against the very architects of their degradation. To understand the victory of the 500 is to understand the blueprint for beating Brahminism today.
Read more

The Shaurya Saga: Pune Prepares for 20 Lakh Visitors at Bhima Koregaon!

28/12/2025

Pune Mirror / by Aashlesha Kakde

Pune is poised to experience an unprecedented influx of people this New Year’s Day. As the city readies itself for the 209th Bhima Koregaon Vijay Stambh Shaurya Day on January 1, 2026, the local administration is making every effort to ensure that the event at Perne village is truly remarkable.
With an astounding 20 lakh attendees anticipated to flock to the memorial, here’s your comprehensive guide to the happenings on the ground!
Read more

Also read:
▪ Bhima Koregaon commission gets 18th extension (Hindustan Times / Aug 2025)
▪ Alternative reading of Bhima Koregaon: A Maharashtra outfit is trying to advance Dalit cause from Hindutva orbit (The Indian Express / Apr 2025)
▪ Why caste Hindutva, not an Elgar conspiracy, is at the root of the Bhima Koregaon violence (The Polis Project / Feb 2025)
▪ Book Excerpt | How Bhima Koregaon Became a Trope for Dalit Pride and Assertion (The Wire │ by Ajaz Ashraf │ June 2024)
▪ Let’s Remember the Lesson of Bhima Koregaon: Down with the New Peshwai (Sanhati │ by Sudhir Dhawale │ March 2018)
▪ Why peoples’ coalitions are uniting against Hindutva — the ‘new Peshwai’ (Dailyo.in │ by Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves │ Jan 2018)
▪ The Myth of Bhima Koregaon Reinforces the Identities It Seeks to Transcend (The Wire | Anand Teltumbde | Jan 2018)

‘It’s like Groundhog Day’: Waiting decades for justice in India’s overburdened court system

‘It’s like Groundhog Day’: Waiting decades for justice in India’s overburdened court system

CBC News / by Salimah Shivji

Backlog of cases in country’s courts would take several hundred years to clear, experts say
The frustration and weariness crept into Sanjay Goel’s voice as he stared at the giant stack of handwritten court documents in front of him.
He was on one of his countless visits from Vancouver to Mumbai, India, to fight for justice in the brutal killing of his mother and was struggling to describe the excruciating delays in criminal court proceedings.
…
Mumbai activist Sudhir Dhawale is familiar with the pain of waiting for a judgment. 
He sat in jail for 6½ years, two of which were in solitary confinement, waiting for bail. 
Read more

Also read:
▪ A Key Conspiratorial Meeting May Be A Fabrication: Why Umar Khalid & Other Muslim Activists Should Get Bail (article 14 / 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)
▪ In Surendra Gadling’s case, adjournment becomes the verdict (Frontline / Aug 2025)
▪ Eternal adjournments, impractical riders mar precious Constitutional values (DT Next / Mar 2025)
▪ Bail for Bhima Koregaon accused highlights extraordinary delay in trial (Scroll.in / Jan 2025)

‘My Imprisonment Part of Scheme to Suppress Dissent, Intimidate Academics’: Hany Babu

‘My Imprisonment Part of Scheme to Suppress Dissent, Intimidate Academics’: Hany Babu

Drawing by Arun Ferreira / The Polis Project

My Imprisonment Part of Scheme to Suppress Dissent, Intimidate Academics: DU Prof Hany Babu

20/12/2025

The Hindustan Gazette / by Waquar Hasan

Delhi University professor and civil rights activist Hany Babu, who was recently granted bail in the Bhima Koregaon case, has said that his imprisonment was part of a larger scheme to suppress dissent and intimidate academics, intellectuals, and activists who raise critical concerns.
…
“Five years inside the prison can actually destroy a person. The only way to withstand this is by doing positive things and refusing to bow down,” he said. “I’m a born Muslim, but I was not religious before my arrest. It was when I was arrested that I realized how vulnerable we all are, and that it is only a supreme power which maybe can kind of save you.”
Read more

Prison, Pandemic and Survival: How Hany Babu’s Freedom Was Curtailed Long Before His Arrest

17/12/2025

The Wire / by Skanya Shantha

After more than five years in jail, academic Hany Babu recounts how arrest, illness and neglect reshaped his life, scholarship and understanding of the prison system.
…
During his imprisonment, Babu and his co-accused in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case waged numerous battles—not only for their own survival, but for the dignity of all prisoners. They fought for better food, adequate medical care and other basic rights, securing small but hard-won victories along the way.
Read more

Also read/watch:
▪ I realised that through Allah I can have the strength to face what was before me: Hany Babu (Frontline / Dec 2025)
▪ Taloja Jail: Lives Fading in Silence Behind Iron Walls (Outlook | by Sudhir Dhawale | Sep 2025)
▪ I saw firsthand how callous prison officials and their negligence led to Stan Swamy’s death (Scroll.in | by Arun Ferreira | Jul 2025)
▪ Inside Taloja Prison: A Study | By Mahesh Raut (Outlook / May 2025)
▪ BK-16 Prison Diaries: The ‘ordinary’ in extraordinary times: A captive’s life in Covid-19 (The Polis Project | by Gautam Navlakha | May 2025)
▪ In Taloja Central Jail, interviews with over 300 undertrial prisoners show denial of rights (The Leaflet | by Hany Babu & Surendra Gadling | Mar 2025)
▪ BK-16 Prison Diaries: Sagar Gorkhe on his battle to survive Taloja jail’s brutality (The Polis Project | by Sagar Gorkhe | Feb 2025)
▪ Ramesh Gaichor on the Elgar prisoners’ defiance of the neo-Peshwai prison system (The Polis Project | by Ramesh Gaichor | Sep 2024)
▪ Some personal reflections on prison medical care (The Leaflet | by Vernon Gonsalves | Apr 2024)

▪ Video: The Prison Song of Surendra Gadling (The Wire / lyrics by Ramesh Gaychor)

hindi | 11min | 2021

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

Bombay High Court allows Gautam Navlakha to move to Delhi till trial ends

Bombay High Court allows Gautam Navlakha to move to Delhi till trial ends

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

Bombay High Court allows Gautam Navlakha to return to Delhi, relaxes restrictive bail condition in Bhima Koregaon Case

17/12/2025

SabrangIndia / by SabrangIndia

Court recognises financial hardship, prolonged trial delay, and the human cost of territorial bail restrictions on a 73-year-old activist; NIA conditions accepted to ensure continued oversight
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday, December 17, relaxed the bail conditions imposed on human rights activist and Elgar Parishad–Bhima Koregaon case accused Gautam Navlakha, permitting him to relocate from Mumbai to his permanent residence in Delhi. The relief was granted by a division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Shyam C. Chandak, which acknowledged the personal, financial, and social hardship Navlakha has faced since his release on bail.
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Bombay High Court allows Gautam Navlakha to move to Delhi till trial ends

17/12/2025

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

Navlakha was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in December 2023 with the condition that he could not leave the Court’s jurisdiction without prior permission.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday permitted human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, to shift base to New Delhi for the pendency of the trial. [Gautam Navlakha v. National Investigation Authority]
Read more

Bombay High Court allows Gautam Navlakha to move to Delhi while on bail

17/12/2025

Maktoobmedia.com / by Maktoob Staff

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday allowed human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, who is out on bail in the Bhima Koregaon UAPA case, to shift and reside in New Delhi during the pendency of the case.
The human rights activist was, however, directed not to leave Delhi without the trial court’s permission and will have to surrender his passport to the concerned authorities.
Read more

Bombay High Court allows Gautam Navlakha to shift from Mumbai to Delhi during pendency of Elgaar Parishad case

17/12/2025

The Indian Express / by Omkar Gokhale

The Bombay High Court cited Gautam Navlakha’s age and financial struggles as reasons for relaxing his bail conditions in the Elgaar Parishad case.
The Bombay High Court Wednesday allowed human rights activist Gautam Navlakha to shift and reside in New Delhi during the pendency of the Elgaar Parishad case, in which he is an accused out on bail. Navlakha is, however, directed not to leave Delhi without the trial court’s permission, and he will have to surrender his passport to the authorities concerned.
Read more

Bombay HC says it is inclined to allow Gautam Navlakha to return to Delhi

16/12/2025

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The bench noted that the journalist and activist is 73 years old and lives away from his family.
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday indicated verbally that it was inclined to allow Gautam Navlakha, one of 16 persons accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case, to move to his home in Delhi until the trial commences, Live Law reported.
The bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Shyam Chandak, said that the 73-year-old journalist and activist is not a flight risk and has been complying with bail conditions, PTI reported.
Read more

Bombay High Court indicates it may allow Gautam Navlakha to shift to Delhi until Bhima Koregaon trial begins

16/12/2025

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

A bail condition restricts Navlakha from leaving the jurisdiction of Bombay High Court.
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday indicated that it will permit human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad case, to shift to his Delhi home until the trial in the case commences.
Read more

“Person At This Age Would Be Lost Away From Family”: Bombay High Court Orally Remarks In Gautam Navlakha’s Plea To Shift Back To Delhi

16/12/2025

Live Law / by Narsi Benwal

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday indicated its inclination to permit rights activist Gautam Navlakha to relocate to Delhi, while hearing his plea seeking relaxation of a bail condition that restrains him from leaving Mumbai in the Elgar Parishad–Bhima Koregaon case.
The matter was heard by a Division Bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Shyam Chandak.
Read more

Also watch/read:
▪ Video | Gautam Navlakha on India’s Prisons: Punishment Precedes Trial (Outlook / Oct 2025)
▪ HC seeks NIA’s response to Navlakha’s plea to reside in Delhi during pendency of Elgaar Parishad case (Indian Express / Oct 2025)
▪ Navlakha files application in court seeking permission to stay in Delhi (The Indian Express / Apr 2025)
▪ Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon accused struggle to find house in city (Hindustan Times / Nov 2022)

‘When you are jailed, they want to break you. The best way to resist is to not succumb’: Hany Babu

‘When you are jailed, they want to break you. The best way to resist is to not succumb’: Hany Babu

I realised that through Allah I can have the strength to face what was before me: Hany Babu

15/12/2025

Frontline / by Ajaz Ashraf

The activist says prison strips life of meaning, and faith in Allah became a source of strength during his five years in jail.
… In this interview, Hany Babu talks about freedom, the daily brutalities of jail life, and the turn towards Islam and Allah that sustained him during his imprisonment.

Edited excerpts:
You were arrested on July 28, 2020, and released on bail on December 4 this year (2025). How does freedom feel from inside and outside jail? Does it involve aspects of life that we take for granted only because they seem insignificant?

I was in jail for five years and four months. What you say about insignificant aspects of life constituting freedom is indeed true.
Read more

‘When you are jailed, they want to break you. The best way to resist is to not succumb’: Hany Babu

15/12/2025

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

Out on bail, Elgaar Parishad case accused speaks about his five years in prison, staying in touch with family, and letter exchanges that felt like “living in multiple time zones.”
For the five years that he spent in jail as an undertrial in the Elgaar Parishad case, says Hany Babu M T, he often dreamt that he was back teaching at Delhi University, attending academic conferences, or meeting authorities over implementation of OBC reservation (a pet concern of his).
Read more

Also read:
▪ After more than five years in prison, Prof. Hany Babu granted regular bail in Bhima Koregaon case (The Leaflet / Dec 2025)
▪ Bombay HC bail for Hany Babu signals a critical reassessment of the Bhima Koregaon Case (CJP / Dec 2025)
▪ And then there were 3: One more granted bail, charges not framed yet, Elgaar Parishad case creaks (The Indian Express / Dc 2025)

Justice On Hold: How India’s Trial Courts Are Creating a New Class of Political Prisoners—Those Accused Of ‘Terrorism’

Justice On Hold: How India’s Trial Courts Are Creating a New Class of Political Prisoners—Those Accused Of ‘Terrorism’

Credits: Drawing by Arun Ferreira / The Polis Project

Article 14 / by Nidah Kaiser And Tamanna Pankaj

With a conviction rate of 3.1% over four years in cases filed under India’s anti-terrorism law, and despite repeated Supreme Court orders to the contrary, India’s trial, special and ‘fast-track’ courts routinely detain activists for years without trial, often only granting bail after higher-court intervention. This systemic delay defies constitutional right and has created a de facto class of political prisoners.
India today jails scores of political activists under a slew of laws, primarily the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA), keeping many in custody for years before trial—often only freeing them after bail orders by higher courts. 
Take the Bhima Koregaon (BK-16) case, where 16 activists were arrested under UAPA in 2018.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Inside the NIA’s ‘Perfect’ Conviction Record: How Coercive Detentions Are Driving Guilty Pleas (The Wire / Dec 2025)
▪ The Grammar of the Power to Arrest and Search under UAPA (Constitutional Law and Philosophy | by Hany Babu and Surendra Gadling | Jul 2025)
▪ UAPA – CRIMINALISING DISSENT AND STATE TERROR – Study of UAPA Abuse in India, 2009-2022 (PUCL / Sep 2022). Download report

Indian Jesuits to continue fight to clear Father Stan Swamy’s name

Indian Jesuits to continue fight to clear Father Stan Swamy’s name

PUDR campaign

Indian Jesuits to continue fight to clear Father Stan Swamy’s name

18/12/2025

UCA News / by Michael Gonsalves

Court-appointed guardian to file fresh petition against official report concluding it was a ‘natural,’ not ‘custodial death’
Jesuits in India say they will continue the legal battle to clear the name of their late confrere, Father Stan Swamy, who died in police custody while awaiting trial for alleged sedition and anti-state activities four years ago.
The 84-year-old Jesuit who died in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) on July 5, 2021, was widely respected as an activist priest for his work among tribal people in eastern Jharkhand and other states for more than five decades.
Read more

Ex-St Xavier’s College principal to challenge Stan Swamy’s custodial death report

12/12/2025

India Today / by Vidya

The magistrate’s enquiry report, submitted by the Maharashtra government two months back, confirmed that Swamy died due to natural causes. The report, prepared by Bandra Magistrate Komalsing Rajput following an enquiry on April 24, 2024, concluded that the 84-year-old activist died from “septicemia due to lobar pneumonia (natural). 
The Bombay High Court on Thursday permitted Frazer Mascarenhance, the former principal of St. Xavier’s College, to file a fresh petition, challenging the enquiry report of the late Father Stan Swamy in the Elgar Parishad case in 2018.
Read more

Bombay High Court Disposes Of Plea Seeking To Quash Observations Against Father Stan Swamy In Elgar Parishad – Bhima Koregaon Case

12/12/2025

Live Law / by Narsi Benwal

The Bombay High Court on Thursday disposed of a petition filed in December 2021 by the next of kin of Father Stan Swamy, who sought clearing the now deceased (Swamy’s) name from the Elgar Parishad – Bhima Koregaon case.
The plea was filed by Father Fraser Mascarenhas, the former principal of Xavier’s College in Mumbai through senior advocate Mihir Desai, argued that the findings of the special NIA court against Swamy “besmirches” his reputation and body of work in tribal and human rights. The findings further violate his fundamental right to reputation under Article 21 of the Constitution. Accordingly, they should be quashed.
Read more

Bombay High Court Disposes Plea to Quash Remarks Against Fr. Stan Swamy

12/12/2025

Catholicconnect.in / by Catholic Connect Reporter

The Bombay High Court on Thursday disposed of a petition filed in December 2021 by the next of kin of Father Stan Swamy, who sought to clear the now deceased priest’s name from the Elgar Parishad–Bhima Koregaon case. The plea, filed by Fr. Frazer Mascarenhas, former principal of St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai, through senior advocate Mihir Desai, argued that the findings of the special NIA court against Swamy “besmirches” his reputation and body of work in tribal and human rights. The findings, they argued, violated his fundamental right to reputation under Article 21 of the Constitution and should therefore be quashed.
Read more

Jesuit priest to challenge reports declaring Stan Swamy’s death natural, HC allows fresh plea

12/12/2025

Hindustan Times / by Karuna Nidhi

Father Frazer Mascarenhas plans to challenge reports declaring Father Stan Swamy’s death natural, citing prison conditions as a factor in his health decline.
Father Frazer Mascarenhas, former principal of St Xavier’s College and a close associate of the late Father Stan Swamy, told the Bombay High Court on Thursday that he intends to challenge both the magistrate’s inquiry report and the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) order that upheld it. The two reports had concluded that Swamy, who died in custody while awaiting trial in the Elgar Parishad case, had died a natural death.
Read more

Stan Swamy’s kin to challenge magistrate report, SHRC finding death due to natural causes

12/12/2025

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Mascarenhas said the magistrate’s report had concluded that Swamy’s death was due to natural causes, a finding later affirmed by the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC).
Father Frazer Mascarenhas, former principal of St Xavier’s College, on Thursday told the Bombay High Court that he will challenge the magistrate’s judicial inquiry report into the custodial death of his late friend Father Stan Swamy, an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case.
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Also read:
▪ Father Stan Swamy died of natural causes, Maharashtra government tells court (India Today / Oct 2025)
▪ NIA opposes plea to clear Stan Swamy’s name, says it would set wrong precedent (India Today / Sep 2025)
▪ I saw firsthand how callous prison officials and their negligence led to Stan Swamy’s death (Scroll.in | by Arun Ferreira | Jul 2025)
▪ How the system broke Stan Swamy: A cell mate recalls the activist’s last days in prison (Scroll.in | by Arun Ferreira | Aug 2021)

▪ I am not a Silent Spectator – Why Truth has become so bitter, Dissent so intolarable, Justice so out of reach – An Autobiographical Fragment, Memory and Reflection (Indian Social Institute | by Stan Swamy | Aug 2021)

Edition: Aug 2021
Publisher: Indian Social Institute, Bangalore
Language: English
Paperback: 149 pages

‘Why truth has become so bitter, dissent so intolerable, justice so out of reach?’ because truth has become very bitter to those in power and position, dissent, so unpalatable to the ruling elite, justice, so out of reach to the powerless, marginalised, deprived people. Yet, truth must be spoken, right to dissent must be upheld, and justice must reach the doorsteps of the poor. I am not a silent spectator. This booklet is not my autobiography. It is rather a collation of some glimpses/episodes from my life that somehow made a difference for me, and possibly for my confrères, colleagues and the people with whom I have shared my life.

Access a free PDF copy of the book here