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Sudha Bharadwaj, Fr Stan not Maoists: Deccan Herald told to remove ‘malicious’ ad

Sudha Bharadwaj, Fr Stan not Maoists: Deccan Herald told to remove ‘malicious’ ad

‘Sudha Bharadwaj, Fr Stan not Maoists’: Deccan Herald told to remove ‘malicious’ ad

16/07/2021

Counterview / by Counterview Desk

In a joint letter, more than 100 civil society groups and citizens* have demanded that from the daily “Deccan Herald” editor Sitaraman Shankar and owners to withdraw and apologise for publishing the visual connect advertisement in its Bengaluru edition on July 15, stating, it is meant to “vilify” human rights activists Sudha Bhardwaj the late Fr Stan Swamy.
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Making a game of a person’s death: Deccan Herald apologises after outrage over Stan Swamy ‘quiz’

16/07/2021

The Print / by Angana Chakrabarti

A group of activists and civil society members hit out at the English language daily Deccan Herald over a ‘prize-winning quiz’ that appeared in the newspaper’s Thursday edition.
The quiz, part of the ‘DH Visual Connect’ contest, which appears in the newspaper every day, drew “connection” between three pictures — the Bhima Koregaon victory pillar, activist Sudha Bharadwaj, and a Communist flag bearing the hammer and sickle.
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NIA Court rejecting bail to Anand Teltumbde [read judgment]

NIA Court rejecting bail to Anand Teltumbde [read judgment]

Bail cannot be granted only because accused is innocent until proven guilty: NIA Court while rejecting bail to Anand Teltumbde [Read judgment]

16/07/2021

Bar &Bench / by Neha Joshi

The Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court at Mumbai observed that there was sufficient material to reach to prima facie conclusion that the accusations against Bhima Koregaon accused Anand Teltumbde are prima facie true.
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Read judgment

Special NIA Court Rejects Prof Anand Teltumbde’s Bail Application

12/07/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

A Special NIA Court, on Monday, rejected the bail application of former IIT professor and academic Anand Teltumbde, booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case.
Special Judge DE Kothalikar had reserved the application for orders on July 6, 2021. Teltumbde, 70, was arrested by the NIA on April 14, last year, after he surrendered before the agency following Supreme Court orders and applied for bail on merits in the special court on January 13, 2021.
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Also read: Castist forces cannot digest success of a Dalit scholar: Anand Teltumbde in his bail plea (Bar & Bench, Jan 2021)

State and NIA oppose default bail plea by Sudha Bharadwaj and 8 other accused in the case

State and NIA oppose default bail plea by Sudha Bharadwaj and 8 other accused in the case

UAPA Offences Will Go Before Special Court Only When NIA Investigates: Maharashtra Govt To Bombay High Court In Sudha Bharadwaj’s Plea For Default Bail

15/07/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

Opposing the default bail plea of Bhima Koregaon- Elgar Parishad accused Sudha Bharadwaj, on Thursday, the Maharashtra Government said that orders passed by the Pune Judge Kishore Vadane were not without jurisdiction even though he was a sessions judge and not a Special Judge under the NIA Act.
During the last hearing Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar had said that the Court’s records were consistent with RTI replies received by Bharadwaj judge KD Vadane’s court was not notified as a special court under the NIA Act.
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Update by Live Law (July 15)


#BombayHighCourt will hear lawyer-activist, #SudhaBharadwaj’s plea seeking default bail on the grounds that the Pune judge was not authorised to take cognisance of the chargesheet against her and others in 2019 +++
A bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar will also hear a petition by other accused in the Bhima Koregaon case seeking similar reliefs +++
Hearing begins. Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni for the State. Adv Yug Chaudhry for Sudha Bharadwaj +++

…
Read thread @LiveLawIndia

Also read: Cognizance Of Bhima Koregaon Chargesheet Vitiated As Pune Judge Wasn’t Special Judge Under NIA Act? Bombay High Court To Examine (Live Law, July 8, 2021)

BK16: Why Is The Judiciary Still Sleeping? / Demise of Father Stan Swamy Marks Death of India’s Conscience

BK16: Why Is The Judiciary Still Sleeping? / Demise of Father Stan Swamy Marks Death of India’s Conscience

BK16: Why Is The Judiciary Still Sleeping?

15/07/2021

Countercurrents / by Sangeeta Kamat

The Bhima Koregaon15 spending a single additional night in jail is a travesty of justice.
The third report by Arsenal on evidence planting became public on July 6, with even more damning evidence corroborating the first two reports in February and April that confirmed extensive evidence planting on Rona Wilson’s hard drive, the first of the arrestees in the BK16 case. The third report meticulously documents transcripts of the malware and external activity on co-defendant Surendra Gadling’s hard drive from 2016 onward by the same attacker! Should not the Indian judiciary take account of the Arsenal reports to declare a fresh line of investigation into the so-called Bhima Koregaon case and release the 15 immediately?
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Demise of Father Stan Swamy Marks Death of India’s Conscience

15/07/2021

The Leaflet / by Aninda Dey

There was hardly a whimper in response to the sudden arrest of Father Stan Swamy on unproven charges of links to Maoists and sparking violence at Bhima Koregaon. His months-long incarceration under the UAPA, inhuman treatment, and tragic death is a dangerous trend that we Indians cannot ignore, for anybody could be next, writes Aninda Dey.
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Also read:
►Evidence found on a second Indian activist’s computer was planted, report says (Washington Post, July 6, 2021)
► Surendra Gadling’s Computer Was Attacked, Incriminating Documents Planted: Arsenal Consulting (The Wire, July 6, 2021)

Release BK15 and all Political Prisoners / Protest & Solidarity: Dhanbad – Bangalore – Varanasi – Bhilai – Pune

Release BK15 and all Political Prisoners / Protest & Solidarity: Dhanbad – Bangalore – Varanasi – Bhilai – Pune

Pan-India movement call by Shahid Father Stan Swamy Nyayik Sangarsh Morcha

14/07/2021

The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee

The morcha has held discussions with the Aituc, Intuc, SFI and social organisations for an all-India coordination committee
Trade unions, farmer unions, student unions and social organisations protesting against the death of Father Stan Swamy in judicial custody will form a coordination committee to submit memoranda to governors of different states for the repeal of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and release of rights activists arrested under the anti-terror law on allegedly flimsy grounds.
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Bangalore, July 14

Varanasi demands justice for Fr Stan Swamy

13/07/2021

Sabrangindia / by Sabrangindia

In memory of Fr Stan, Varanasi demands release of Bhima-Koregaon accused and other political prisoners
The Samiksha Sanskrit Manch, a Varanasi-based citizens’ group has demanded the release of those arrested under draconian laws.The demand was made during a tribute meeting and candle march organised on July 12, 2021 in memory of Adivasi rights activist and Jesuit priest Fr. Stan Swamy.
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Bhilai, July 13

By Progressive Writers Association, PUCL, AITUC, ACTU, TUCI, Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha Mazdoor Karyakarta Samiti, Mahila Mukti Morcha & Rela among others

Release Political Prisoners: CJP to Maharashtra CM

13/07/2021

By Citizens for Justice and Peace

In wake of Fr. Stan’s passing, CJP appeals for release of remaining Bhima Koregaon accused.
Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) has once again written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, urging him to consider recommending to the high-power committee, that the remaining accused in the Bhima Koregaon case be released on interim bail. There are still 14 people languishing in jail after Fr. Stan Swamy passed away and Varavara Rao was released on medical grounds.
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NIA, NHRC, Modi govt and judicial system executed plot against Stan Swamy: Maoists

13/07/2021

The New Indian Express / by Mukesh Ranjan

The CPI (Maoists) has demanded immediate release of all the activists lodged in jail in Bhima Koregaon case.
The Maoists on Tuesday alleged that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) framed Stan Swamy in a fake case and demanded immediate release of all the activists lodged in jail in the Bhima Koregaon case.
The CPI (Maoists) also demanded the withdrawal of all the cases filed against them and appealed to the writers, artists, singers, lawyers, and democratic intelligentsia to support them.
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Murder by the system: Cops, activists launch into verbal clashes at protest site

13/07/2021

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Claiming that Swamy’s death was “murder by the system”, and that he was treated inhumanly after his arrest, activists gathered under the banner of ‘Bhima Koregaon Shauryadin Prerna Abhiyaan’ and staged a protest.
Heated arguments broke out between police and activists gathered at the Pune district collectorate during a protest on Monday against the death of Father Stan Swamy, an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case.
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London, July 10

South Asia Solidarity in London, outside the High Comm of India.
Plea against transfer of Bhima Koregaon probe from State Police an obstacle: NIA to Bombay HC

Plea against transfer of Bhima Koregaon probe from State Police an obstacle: NIA to Bombay HC

Plea against transfer of Bhima Koregaon probe from State Plice an obstacle: NIA to Bombay HC

13/07/2021

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The plea challenging the transfer of probe in the Bhima Koregaon case from Pune Police to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) is an exercise is to impede and cause obstacles in the process of investigation by central agency, the NIA submitted before the Bombay High Court.
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NIA tells HC that Bhima-Koregaon case given to it because of ‘gravity of offence’

13/07/2021

The Hindu / by Sonam Saigal

NIA tells HC that Bhima-Koregaon case given to it because of ‘gravity of offence’
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday told the Bombay High Court that, “considering the gravity of the offence and its inter-State link and implications on national security, the Central government had suo motu directed the NIA to take up the investigation” in the Bhima-Koregaon case.
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Also read: Petition filed in Bombay High Court challenging transfer of case investigation to NIA (The Leaflet, June 2020)

Arsenal Report Can’t Be Relied Upon, Pune Police Opposes Rona Wilson’s Plea

Arsenal Report Can’t Be Relied Upon, Pune Police Opposes Rona Wilson’s Plea

Arsenal Report Can’t Be Relied Upon, Pune Police Opposes Rona Wilson’s Plea Alleging Planting Of Materials

13/07/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The Pune police that was stripped of the investigations into the Bhima-Koregaon Elgar-Parishad case by the Union government in January 2020, has filed an affidavit on the same lines as the National Investigation Agency(NIA) opposing activist Rona Wilson’s petition seeking to quash the case before the Bombay High Court.
The affidavit filed by Deputy Commissioner of Police Shrinivas Muralidhar Ghadge seeks dismissal of Wilson’s petition on grounds of maintainability, including stating that the report by USA based Arsenal Consulting is not admissible as it is not a part of any of the charge sheets filed by the investigating agencies.
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Pune Police opposes Rona Wilson’s plea alleging ‘planted’ evidence, calls it ‘premature’

13/07/2021

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

The Pune Police said the forensic report of the US-based consultancy was not a part of the chargesheet and can be looked into by the trial court and need to be dealt with currently by the high court.
The Pune Police has recently opposed a petition filed by Rona Wilson, an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case, seeking to quash a chargesheet filed against them claiming the charges levelled were based on material that was allegedly planted on electronic devices of the activist.
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Also read: Surendra Gadling’s Computer Was Attacked, Incriminating Documents Planted: Arsenal Consulting (The Wire, July 7)

Bhima Koregaon Case: Where Are The Hindutva Leaders Accused of Violence?

Bhima Koregaon Case: Where Are The Hindutva Leaders Accused of Violence?

The Quint / by Himanshi Dahiya

Three years on, Milind Ekbote remains out on bail. Sambhaji Bhide, now 88, is yet to be called for questioning.
On 2 January 2018, a day after violence broke out at Bhima Koregaon, an FIR was filed in Pune’s Shikrapur police station against Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote — leaders of Hindutva outfits Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan and Samasta Hindu Aghadi, respectively — allegedly for “orchestrating” the anti-Dalit violence.
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Also read: Casting a Veil – What we miss by ignoring Maratha caste politics in the Bhima Koregaon case (The Caravan, Dec 2020)

Bhima Koregaon commission gets extension until Dec 31st / Panel likely to resume work from Aug

Bhima Koregaon commission gets extension until Dec 31st / Panel likely to resume work from Aug

Bhima Koregaon commission gets extension until December 31st

11/07/2021

Hindustan Times / by Nadeem Inamdar

The Bhima Koregaon inquiry commission has been given an extension from August 2nd until December 31st by the state home department.
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Bhima Koregaon clashes probe panel likely to resume work from August

09/07/2021

The Hindu / by Shoumojit Banerjee

It may record Sharad Pawar’s statement
After a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the two-member commission appointed by the Maharashtra government to probe the causes of the 2018 Bhima-Koregaon clashes is likely to resume work next month. It may record the statement of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and other senior officials, said sources on Friday.
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UAPA Wrecking Lives: What Is The Human Cost? / Trying Without a Trial Is the Intent of Draconian UAPA Law

UAPA Wrecking Lives: What Is The Human Cost? / Trying Without a Trial Is the Intent of Draconian UAPA Law

UAPA Wrecking Lives: What Is The Human Cost?

10/07/2021

Live Law / by Manu Sebastian

It is high time that the human costs extracted by the unjust detentions under UAPA are calculated and accountability is fixed on those investigating officers who trapped innocents by misusing the statute.
This article is not about how the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act(UAPA) is leading to blatant violations of civil liberties and how the act is being used to criminalize dissent. Much has been written and commented about this aspect by several constitutional scholars.
Experienced criminal law practitioners have highlighted that the stringent bail provisions of UAPA result in innocent persons languishing as undertrials on flimsy and fanciful chargers, only to be acquitted several years later. There is no need to add to the overwhelmingly compelling critical commentarries about UAPA.
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Trying Without a Trial Is the Intent of Draconian UAPA Law

09/07/2021

The Wire / by Rajshree Chandra

‘Trial by process’ is the political and organisational logic of the UAPA.
An 84-year-old Jesuit Father, Stan Swamy, charged for inciting violence in Bhima Koregaon (BK), died inside the panoptic walls of the Taloja jail on July 5. Despite his age, despite his Parkinson’s-ravaged body, despite his tremors, despite his Covid infection, despite all his frailties, he had been denied bail repeatedly. Rather than his ailing, failing body becoming a ground for bail and appropriate medical care, his body became yet another ground on which the National Investigation Agency (NIA) waged its vicious war.
Now with one gone, there are 15 other bodies, 15 other grounds, 15 other citizens on whose imprisoned bodies this diabolical war shall continue, in which law will be upheld procedurally, but justice denied.
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