By People’s Union for Civil Liberties
Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism
Publisher: Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
Edition: January 2021
Language: English
Sudha Bharadwaj’s interview by: Darshana Mitra and Santanu Chakraborty
Pictures credit: PUCL
Cover Design / Layout: Vinay Jain
Paperback: 316 pages
Free Press Journal / by FPJ Web Desk
Pune police have granted permission to the Elgar Parishad which is slated to be held on January 30, reported Maharashtra Times.
As per the Facebook post on January 22, the event will be held at the Ganesh Krida Kala Manch in Pune’s Swargate area. “Organizers of Elgar have met Pune Commissioner of Police IPS Amitabh Gupta and Pune Police has given permission for the Elgar Parishad 2021,” reads the post.
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Indian American Muslim Council / by IAMC
UN Special Rapporteur asks India to free 16 Human Rights Defenders accused in Bhima-Koregaon case.
The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), an advocacy organization dedicated to safeguarding India’s pluralist and tolerant ethos, today launched a report titled, “Crushing Dissent: 2021 Status Report on Human Rights in India,” detailing human rights abuses in India. At the launch of this report, UN Special Rapporteur Ms. Mary Lawlor called upon the Indian government to immediately release 16 human rights defenders who have been imprisoned on charges of terrorism in the ‘Bhima-Koregaon Case’.
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22/01/2021
Sabrang / by Sabrang India
Indira Jaising argued that no penological purpose would be served by keeping the ailing man detained.
Dr. Varavara Rao’s bail hearing which has been in progress since January 19 and which continued until January 21, has now been adjourned to January 27. Division bench of Justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale have been hearing the petition and taking stock of Dr. Rao’s medical condition. Rao was admitted to the Nanavati Hospital on the court’s orders previously in view of his deteriorating health.
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22/01/2021
Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim
The Maharashtra State informed the Bombay High Court on Thursday that the state was willing to shift 81-year-old Telugu poet Varavara Rao directly to Sir JJ Hospital instead of sending him back to the Taloja Prison Hospital.
Rao, an accused under the UAPA in the Elgar Parishad – Maoist Links case, suffers from various medical complications and is currently admitted in Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital. A team of experts has informed the court last week that Rao is fit for discharge.
Arguing Rao’s bail on medical grounds, his lawyers have repeatedly emphasized the lack of infrastructure in the prison hospital to monitor his condition and therefore suggested interim bail for at least three months for the ailing man.
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21/01/2021
Times of India / by Swati Deshpande
The State on Thursday said Telugu poet and Elgar Parishad accused P Varavara Rao, 81, can be shifted to the prison ward of the government-run JJ Hospital where he would get all the medical care needed.
… Additional solicitor general Anil Singh for National Investigation Agency (NIA) will make his submission on January 27 in a petition filed by Rao’s wife Hemlatha, for his release on bail on medical grounds from Taloja prison.
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21/01/2021
Hindustan Times / by K A Y Dodhiya
Asserting that Taloja jail hospital is well-equipped to monitor the health of Elgar Parishad case accused P Varavara Rao, Maharashtra government and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday informed the Bombay high court (HC) that the 82-year-old Telugu poet could be shifted to Taloja jail.
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20/01/2021
Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim
Advocates appearing for 81-year-old UAPA accused – Dr Varavara Rao – have for the first time suggested to the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that the ailing Telugu poet be released on temporary bail for three months, his conduct be monitored and he be directed to report to some authority, after which he may be allowed to remain on bail.
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20/01/2021
Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim
Even as Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital has finally said that the ailing 81- year-old Telugu poet – Varavara Rao – is fit for discharge, Senior Advocate Anand Grover urged the Bombay High Court on Tuesday to grant him bail on medical grounds as the Taloja Jail Hospital does not have the infrastructure to monitor his condition.
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19/01/2021
Hindustan Times / by K A Y Dodhiya
The counsel for P Hemlatha, wife of 82-year-old Telugu poet P Varavara Rao, on Tuesday, argued before the Bombay high court (HC) that though Nanavati Hospital had said that Rao was fit to be discharged, Taloja jail hospital does not have the wherewithal to continue close monitoring of Rao’s health. Hence, she said it would be better to allow the Telugu poet to go back home to Hyderabad where his condition could be closely monitored by Rao’s daughter and granddaughter, both of whom are doctors, as per the recommendations by the Nanavati Hospital.
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19/01/2021
Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff
The activist’s counsel also said that Rao was suffering from kidney failure and a host of other ailments.
Poet-activist Varavara Rao’s counsel on Tuesday asked the Bombay High Court to grant him bail on medical grounds, submitting that the Taloja Prison hospital lacks adequate infrastructure to treat him, PTI reported.
… The court will continue hearing the bail plea on Wednesday, PTI reported.
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By Fr Stan Swamy SJ
First of all, I deeply appreciate the overwhelming solidarity expressed by many during these past 100 days behind the bars. At times, news of such solidarity has given me immense strength and courage especially when the only thing certain in prison is uncertainty.
Life here is on a day-to-day basis. Another strength during these past hundred days, has been in observing the plight of the undertrials. A majority of them come from economically & socially weaker communities. Many of such poor undertrials don’t know what charges have been put on them, have not seen their charge sheet and just remain in prison for years without any legal or other assistance. Overall, almost all undertrials are compelled to live to a bare minimum, whether rich or poor. This brings in a sense of brotherhood & communitarianism where reaching out to each other is possible even in this adversity. On the other hand, we sixteen co-accused have not been able to meet each other, as we are lodged in different jails or different ‘circles’ within the same jail. But we will still sing in chorus. A caged bird can still sing.
Fr. Stan Swamy
The Wire / by The Wire Staff
“The arrest of Dr. Varavara Rao is an integral part of the steps taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP to reduce the democratic space in the country, and part of the political persecution and indictment of journalists, human rights activists, critical politicians and citizens and minority groups.”
In a letter sent to the Indian ambassador to Israel Sanjeev Kumar Singla, a group of Israeli poets have called for the immediate release of poet and activist Varavara Rao. The octogenarian has suffered a number of medical issues in prison recently, and his lawyers have filed for medical bail in the Bombay high court.
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The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde
‘Bhima Koregaon Shourya Din Prerna Abhiyan’ has released a pamphlet for the coming Elgaar Parishad, which mentions its main speakers as Arundhati Roy, Kannan Gopinathan along with Rohith’s brother Raja Vemula.
Author Arundhati Roy and former IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan, who resigned from the services in protest against abrogation of Article 370, are among key speakers at the Elgaar Parishad event being organised in Pune on January 30 by ‘Bhima Koregaon Shourya Din Prerna Abhiyan’.
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Also read: WHY IS ELGAR PARISHAD BEING REVIVED ? ELGAR PARISHAD ON JAN 30
The Leaflet / by Nihalsing B Rathod
… When news broke that renowned Indian activists and lawyers had become victims of Pegasus, a chill went over all of us. It was an intensely strange experience to learn that we were being snooped on. Some time passed before we could understand what had really happened.
All of us were, in one way or another, connected with the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case.
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17/01/2021
Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi
Dalit activist Anand Teltumbde, accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, has sought release on bail before the Special NIA Court, Mumbai. He is presently detained in Taloja jail since April 2020.
Casteist forces cannot digest his success and his implication in the Bhima Koregaon violence is an attempt to belittle his achievements and humiliate Dalits, activist and scholar Anand Teltumbde told the Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court at Mumbai in his application seeking bail.
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15/01/2021
Sabrang / by Sabrang India
In his plea, he has completely denied his Maoist connections and has stated that he has instead been critical of the ideology.
Anand Teltumbde, former Professor at IIT and academic, has once again sought bail from Special NIA court, Mumbai as he has been in the agency’s custody since April 2020. The hearing is likely to take place on January 27 at the special NIA Court. He was earlier denied bail by the court in July 2020.
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14/01/2021
The Times of India / by Rebecca Samervel
Refuting allegations that he was one of the conveners of of Elgar Parishad, arrested activist and academic, Anand Teltumbde, in his bail plea said he had made a brief visit to Shanirwada on December 31, 2017, to meet his wife’s nephew and sister-in-law and that he was in Pune to attend the wedding of his former classmate’s son.
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14/01/2021
India Today / by Vidya
Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence case, filed a bail application before a special NIA court on Wednesday and argued that investigators have no evidence about his alleged association with the Maoists.
In his 64-page bail plea, Teltumbde said contrary to the allegations levelled against him, he has always been critical of the Maoist ideology and even a written a book on the subject.
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12/01/2021
Outlook / by Outlook Web Bureau
Months after a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mumbai refused to grant “default” bail to academician-activist Anand Teltumbde, he moved a fresh bail plea before court on Tuesday.
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17/01/2021
The Telegraph / by Animesh Bisoee
He is one of 16 rights activists, lawyers, writers and academics arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case and charged with Maoist links.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, on Friday evening criticised the Indian government’s treatment of human rights activists such as Father Stan Swamy.
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16/01/2021
Sabrang / by Sabrang India
100 days behind bars, Fr. Stan Swamy continues to inspire.
At an online event titled I cannot be framed 110 human rights organisations, including Peoples Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) and Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), came together to stand in solidarity with Father Stan Swamy and 15 other accused in the Bhima Koregaon case. They came together to mark the hundred days of Father Stan Swamy’s incarceration and hail the efforts and struggle of all Human Rights Defenders.
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16/01/2021
The Indian Express / by Aranya Shankar
Mary Lawlor was speaking at an online event marking 100 days of Swamy’s incarceration.
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor Friday said India does not “properly protect human rights defenders”.
She also said she had written to the Indian government in November, “raising concerns” over Jesuit priest Stan Swamy’s arrest in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case, but had not yet received a response.
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16/01/2021
India Tomorrow / by Ishfaq-ul-Hassan
Pitching for the release of 83-year-old Father Stan Swamy, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights defenders Mary Lawlor expressed serious concern over the arbitrary targeting of human rights defenders in India using controversial Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
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Mary Lawlor UN Special Rapporteur HRDs (Jan 15, 2021):
On 3 Nov 2020, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, & I sent a letter to the Indian Government on the arbitrary detention of #humanrightsdefender Fr. Stan Swamy. This letter is now public. Our concerns in full
Also read/watch: VIDEO: 100 DAYS OF THE INCARCERATION OF FR. STAN SWAMY, SJ AND THE BRUTAL FACE OF THE INDIAN STATE
