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US Departments 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: India

US Departments 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: India

US Department’s 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: India

13/04/2022

US Department of State / by Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

… Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: unlawful and arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings by the government or its agents; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by police and prison officials; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention by government authorities; political prisoners or detainees; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; restrictions on free expression and media, including violence, threats of violence, or unjustified arrests or prosecutions against journalists …
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US government report says Indian Muslims are vulnerable to communal violence, discrimination

13/04/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The report also flagged extrajudicial killings and arbitrary arrests and detentions by government authorities.
… The report specifically mentioned the treatment meted out to 84-year-old Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest who was arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case. The case pertains to caste violence in a village near Pune in 2018. Sixteen people were arrested for allegedly plotting the violence.
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Protest for release of activists

Protest for release of activists

Left groups protest across Punjab, seek to revive spirit of Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom

17/04/2022

Counterview / by Harsh Thakor

Despite political change of guards, which brought Aam Aadmi Party to power, recent events suggest that Left-wing forces of different shades appear to be steadily gaining ground in Punjab.
… Held on April 8 in Singrur on the very day Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru flung a bomb in the parliament house to symbolise liberation from colonial slavery, the Kirti Kisan Union, Punjab Students Union, Naujwan Bharat Sabha and Zameen Prapti Sangharsh demanded unconditional release of political prisoners. Speakers summarised how activists like Gautam Navlakha , GN Saibaba, Rona Wilson, Anand Teltumbde, Varavara Rao, Umar Khalid, Sudha Bharadwaj, Devinder Ghullar etc. were branded for waging a conspiracy against the state as they were posing a question to the autocratic character of the rulers or confronting fascism.
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Protest for release of activists

09/04/2022

Times of India / by TNN

The farmer and student organisations protested in Faridkot on Friday for the release of those who have completed their sentences and of activists who have been arrested on flimsy grounds. Activists of Kirti Kisan Union, Naujwan Bharat Sabha and Punjab Students Union raised slogans for the release of Prof GN Saibaba, Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha, Umar Khalid, Devinderpal Singh Bhullar and others.
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Left leaders protest, seek release of political prisoners

08/04/2022

Tribune of India / by Tribune News Service

Members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) New Democracy on Friday held a protest against the non-release of Sikh prisoners who had completed their sentences and imprisonment of political prisoners, intellectuals, writers, journalists and activists in false cases.
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Hearing of Anand Teltumbde’s appeal seeking bail on merits adjourned to April 26

Hearing of Anand Teltumbde’s appeal seeking bail on merits adjourned to April 26

Hearing of Anand Teltumbde’s appeal seeking bail on merits

by Live Law (April 11):
#BombayHighCourt will continue to hear Dalit scholar – #AnandTeltumbde’splea seeking bail on merits in the #BhimaKoregaon – Elgar Parishad caste violence case. Hearing before bench of Justices Sunil Shukre and GA Sanap.

+++ Adjourned to April 26. +++

by Live Law (April 7)

#BombayHighCourt will continue to hear Dalit scholar #AnandTeltumbde’s appeal seeking bail on merits in Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad caste violence case. Hearing before the bench of Justices Sunil Shukre and GA Sanap
Matter called out.
…
Adjourned to Monday for further arguments.

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Bombay HC to hear Anand Teltumbde’s appeal challenging rejection of bail on April 7

31/03/2022

The Leaflet / by Sabah Gurmat

On Thursday, the Bombay High Court’s division bench of Justices S.B. Shukre and G.A. Sanap decided to post the matter of Bhima Koregaon (Elgar Parishad) accused Anand Teltumbde’s plea challenging his rejection of bail, to April 7. The 71-year old Teltumbde is an academic and activist who has been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act [UAPA], and the High Court had been hearing his bail plea as well as a petition challenging the conditions for bail under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA.
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Bombay HC reserves order on activist Gautam Navlakha’s plea seeking house arrest

Bombay HC reserves order on activist Gautam Navlakha’s plea seeking house arrest

Bombay HC reserves order on activist Gautam Navlakha’s plea seeking house arrest

06/04/2022

The Leaflet / by Sabah Gurmat

Tuesday, the Bombay High Court’ division bench of Justices S.B. Shukre and G.A. Sanap decided to reserve its verdict on journalist and activist Gautam Navlakha’s plea seeking house arrest in place of his incarceration at Navi Mumbai’s Taloja jail, citing his failing health conditions, and lack of proper medical care and basic facilities in prison.
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Bombay High Court reserves verdict in plea by Gautam Navlakha to be moved from prison to house arrest

05/04/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

Navlakha prayed that he be transferred from Taloja Central Prison and placed under house arrest on the ground that the prison conditions are not suitable for a septuagenarian suffering from medical ailments.
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict in the plea filed by Bhima Koregaon accused Gautam Navlakha praying that he be transferred from Taloja prison and placed under house arrest instead [Gautam Navlakha v. National Investigation Agency & Anr.]
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by Live Law (April 5):
#BombayHighCourt will shortly hear senior journalist #GautamNavlakha’s plea to be shifted out of Taloja prison and be placed under house arrest in the #BhimaKoregaon – #ElgarParishad case. Hearing before bench of Justices Sunil Shukre and GA Sanap for NIA’s arguments.

Yesterday, the judges made scathing observations against the Maha Govt for callously dealing with Navlakha’s allegations against prison officials for denying him books, spectacles and a chair.

Matter called out ASG Anil Singh for NIA Advs Yug Mohit Chaudhry along with Payoshi Roy for Navlakha

The state tries to file a second affidavit. Adv Chaudhry objects.

…

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Prison officials didn’t allow Gautam Navlakha to access P.G. Wodehouse’s book, called it ‘security risk’

Prison officials didn’t allow Gautam Navlakha to access P.G. Wodehouse’s book, called it ‘security risk’

by Bar & Bench (April 5)
#BombayHighCourt reserves order in plea filed by #BhimaKoregaon accused Gautam Navlakha seeking house arrest.

‘Comical’: HC Slams Prison Officials’ Move to Label Wodehouse Book for Navlakha ‘Security Risk’

05/04/2022

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

The Bombay HC was also unimpressed by the fact that the prosecutor did not address Gautam Navlakha’s allegations of having been denied basic rights in jail.
The Bombay high court has expressed frank surprise at Taloja prison officials’ decision to not allow Elgar Parishad accused Gautam Navlakha to access a book by one of the world’s most well-known English humour novelists, P.G. Wodehouse, by calling it a security risk.
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Prison officials didn’t allow Gautam Navlakha to access P.G. Wodehouse’s book, called it ‘security risk’

04/04/2022

The Leaflet / by Sabah Gurmat

Asking the NIA’s advocate Sandesh Patil, ‘Is P.G. Wodehouse considered a security threat?’, the Bombay High Court observed that it is really comical.
Earlier today, the Bombay High Court heard a plea filed by human rights activist and journalist Gautam Navlakha, one of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon (Elgar Parishad) conspiracy case, seeking his transfer from Navi Mumbai’s Taloja jail to judicial custody via house arrest, citing his advanced age and on the ground that he is suffering from various ailments.
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How can PG Wodehousebook be security threat; this is comical: Bombay High Court

04/04/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The remarks from the Bench came after Navlakha told the Court that Taloja prison authorities had denied him a stool, his spectacles and even a book authored by PG Wodehouse.
The Bombay High Court was on Monday staggered by the allegations raised by Bhima Koregaon accused Gautam Navlakha that Taloja prison authorities had denied him a stool, his spectacles and even a book authored by PG Wodehouse [Gautam Navlakha v. National Investigation Agency & Anr.]
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‘PG Wodehouse A Security Threat? That’s Comical’: Bombay High Court Astonished At Prison Officials Denying Gauatam Navlakha Books

04/04/2022

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The Bombay High Court on Monday came down heavily on the Maharashtra Government for its callousness in dealing with serious allegations against officials of Taloja Prison, which were levelled by senior journalist Gautam Navlakha who has been imprisoned there in the Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad Case.
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Kabir Kala Manch: A History of Revolutionary Singing and State Repression

Kabir Kala Manch: A History of Revolutionary Singing and State Repression

ritimo / by Gurlhosur Geetanjali

Kabir Kala Manch founded in early 2000s has been at the receiving end of the state. As it grew in popularity its members faced incarceration for long years and continued oppression under successive governments.
“I remember it was a rainy day. I was about 23 then. When I heard the group performing in our basti (informal urban cluster), I had goosebumps! I had never heard songs that spoke of the struggles of women, Dalits and the poor. I was enthralled.”
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‘Blot on democracy’: Shashi Tharoor moves Bill to repeal UAPA

‘Blot on democracy’: Shashi Tharoor moves Bill to repeal UAPA

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

In his private member’s Bill, the Congress MP described the law as a ‘tool of abuse’ as its conviction rate since 2014 has been only 2.4%.
… To buttress his arguments against the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Tharoor has mentioned in his Bill, the cases related to tribal rights activist Stan Swamy and Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan, who were charged under the Act.
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Why Surendra Gadling, a political prisoner, is alleging his life is in danger

Why Surendra Gadling, a political prisoner, is alleging his life is in danger

Times of India / by Parth MN

Advocate and activist Surendra Gadling, an accused in the Elagar Parishad-Maoist links case, has filed a criminal complaint against top prison authorities, claiming he is facing extreme harassment. The police, however, says that’s not the case
On November 24, 2021, Surendra Gadling “felt giddy” after visiting the toilet. The human rights lawyer and Dalit activist from Nagpur immediately went into “a semi-conscious state and fell on his back“, banging his head gainst the wall.
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Video: The Prison Song of Surendra Gadling

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.
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The Bhima Koregaon Arrests and the Resistance in India

The Bhima Koregaon Arrests and the Resistance in India

Monthly Review / by Saroj Giri

It often happens: A murder takes place, an utterly foul one. But there is little outcry, no lasting sense of wrong in public memory. Deep down, everyone is aware of the gross violation that has taken place in their midst. Everyone is affected and silently appalled that there is no redress, no justice. Yet normal life and routine democracy continues—at the expense of a deep scar in the inner recess of society, unseen and perhaps illegible, best described as a void. Like an abyss that stares back, will this void come to haunt everyone later, in some possibly unrecognizable form?
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Bombay HC to hear Anand Teltumbde’s appeal challenging rejection of bail on April 7

Bombay HC to hear Anand Teltumbde’s appeal challenging rejection of bail on April 7

Bombay HC to hear Anand Teltumbde’s appeal challenging rejection of bail on April 7

31/03/2022

The Leaflet / by Sabah Gurmat

On Thursday, the Bombay High Court’s division bench of Justices S.B. Shukre and G.A. Sanap decided to post the matter of Bhima Koregaon (Elgar Parishad) accused Anand Teltumbde’s plea challenging his rejection of bail, to April 7. The 71-year old Teltumbde is an academic and activist who has been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act [UAPA], and the High Court had been hearing his bail plea as well as a petition challenging the conditions for bail under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA.
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Anand Teltumbde’s bail hearing commences before Bombay HC

30/03/2022

Sabrang / by Sabrangindia

Apart from arguing for bail, Dr Anand Telmumbde, a renowned academic, will through his counsel, also be challenging the constitutionality of Section 43(D)(5 of the Unlawful Practices Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
Behind bars since April 14, 2020, Dr Anand Teltumbde a well-known academic, will through his counsel, Mihir Desai interrogating the anomalies in investigation and prosecution by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) apart from seriously questioning the mode and matter of garnering evidence in connection with his name being tragged into the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case.
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Bhima Koregaon case trial not likely to begin soon, says activist Anand Teltumbde as he seeks bail

31/03/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

His lawyer told the Bombay High Court that the NIA has claimed Teltumbde is a member of a terrorist group but he has not been charged with any acts of violence.
The trial in the Bhima Koregaon case is not likely to begin anytime soon, activist Anand Teltumbde told the Bombay High Court on Wednesday as he sought bail, reported PTI.
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NIA can’t label me terrorist in absence of direct evidence, Teltumbde tells HC

30/03/2022

Free Press Journal / by Narsi Benwal

A bench of Justices Sunil Shukre and Govind Sanap was hearing a plea filed by Teltumbde through senior advocate Mihir Desai, seeking bail.
One of the prime accused in the Bhima-Koregaon violence case – academician Anand Teltumbde on Wednesday told the Bombay High Court that the NIA, which is investigating the case, has labelled him as a terrorist without attributing any direct evidence against him. He accordingly, sought bail.
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