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Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud: The New Right liberal

Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud: The New Right liberal

Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud: The New Right liberal

05/11/2024

The Leaflet / by Indira Jaising

Does the outgoing Chief Justice of India represent the emergence of a New Right in India, one that is modern and yet able to rely on a norm above the Constitution to perform the judicial function, writes Indira Jaising.
… It was during this period that pre-trial jail and not bail became the norm of the Supreme Court of India. The accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, granted bail by the Bombay High Court, had their bail Orders stayed by the Supreme Court of India by a Bench of which Justice Trivedi was a member. Many withdrew their petitions for bail rather than have them dismissed by the Supreme Court.
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I Have Always Granted Bail From A To Z, From Arnab To Zubair: CJI DY Chandrachud

05/11/2024

Live Law / by Gursimran Kaur Bakshi

Speaking at yesterday’s discussion organised by The Indian Express, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud answered many pressing issues and controversies including whether the Supreme Court stands true to the ‘bail is the rule, jail an exception’ principle.
Set to demit the office on November 10, CJI was asked by Apurva Vishwanath, The Indian Express, what institutional processes and mechanisms are required to prevent cases such as that of G.N. Saibaba and Stan Swamy, who have languished as undertrial prisoners for years in jail.
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Also read:
Contrary To SC’s Rules Of Assignment, At Least 8 Politically Sensitive Cases Moved To One Judge In 4 Months (article 14 / Dec 2023)
As Bhima Koregaon case completes its fourth anniversary, State reprisal is writ large in its twists and turns (The Leaflet / June 2022)
#BhimaKoregaonVerdict: Between the majority and the minority judgments of the Supreme Court (The Leaflet / Oct 2018)

Mahayuti govt compelled to appropriate INDIA alliance Constitution driven call?

Mahayuti govt compelled to appropriate INDIA alliance Constitution driven call?

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

Sabrangindia / by Tanya Arora

As the Maharashtra Assembly elections approach, with the announcement due any day now, the Shinde government has rolled s out last-minute welfare measures! And its “alliance partner,” the BJP has today issued appropriate-ory advertisements, with deputy chief minister Devendra Phadnavis prostrating before a statue of Dr BR Ambedkar; this while the state regime continues to undermine constitutional values while exploiting Dr. Ambedkar’s legacy to secure votes from marginalised communities
… One also cannot forget the infamous Bhima Koregaon case, which is another chilling example of how dissent, especially from Dalit and Adivasi rights activists, has been criminalised in Maharashtra. The case stems from the January 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence, where clashes broke out after Dalits gathered to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon, a symbolic event marking Dalit pride and resistance.
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Also read:
A New Bill Shows Maharashtra Wants to Become a Police State Before Combatting Left-Wing Extremism (The Wire / Jul 2024)
What is Maharashtra’s new Bill to curb ‘Naxalism in urban areas’? (The Indian Express / Jul 2024)
Maharashtra: Activists, Lawyers Added to ‘Union War Book’, Listed as ‘Enemies of the State’ (The Wire / Jul 2021)

Echoes of Authoritarianism: Modi’s Assault on Democratic Values

Echoes of Authoritarianism: Modi’s Assault on Democratic Values

Modern Diplomacy / by Summra Hamid

In the landscape of contemporary Indian politics, a significant transformation is underway, one that merits urgent attention and reflection. The current prime minister of India, Narendra Modi’s leadership, once seen as a beacon of hope and reform, has increasingly started resembling authoritarianism, jeopardizing the foundational tenets of democracy. This opinion piece digs into the dangers posed by Modi’s regime and the implications for the Indian society as a whole.
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Also read:
India: Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee on the deterioration of civic space (CIVICUS / Jul 2024)
AI Report: India’s exploitation of terrorism financing assessments to target the civil society (Amnesty.org / Sep 2023)
Narendra Modi’s Government Is Using False Charges of Terrorism to Repress Its Opponents (Jacobinmag / April 2022)
Maharashtra: Activists, Lawyers Added to ‘Union War Book’, Listed as ‘Enemies of the State’ (The Wire / Jul 2021)

Activists mark four years in jail under India’s UAPA without trial or bail

Activists mark four years in jail under India’s UAPA without trial or bail

Credits: @FreeUmarKhalid1

Activists mark four years in jail under India’s UAPA without trial or bail

20/09/2024

Peoples Dispatch / by Peoples Dispatch

Umar Khalid and more than a dozen activoists have spent four years in prison under India’s controversial Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), with no trial or bail. The cases are widely seen as politically motivated efforts to suppress dissent
… The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has called for the scrapping of the UAPA, claiming it has been used by the Narendra Modi led-BJP government to silence the opposition and to put its critics behind bars in cases such as Bhima Koregaon and Delhi riots.
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Umar Khalid’s Father Lambasts Misuse of Laws to Silence Dissent

20/09/2024

Clarion / by Team Clarion

Calls for judicial accountability as Umar Khalid and others languish in jail without bail or proper trial
Anti-terror laws are being systematically used to silence the dissenting voices in the country, the father of incarcerated JNU student and activist, Umar Khalid, has said.
“Laws like UAPA, TADA, and POTA were meant to combat terrorism, but they have been weaponised against ordinary citizens and activists,” Khalid’s father, Dr Qasim Rasool Ilyas, said. He was addressing an event ‘Curtailed Freedoms: A Travesty of Justice’ hosted by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) and Concerned Citizens Delhi at the Constitution Club of India here earlier this week.
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Also read:
Four Years of Injustice: Free Umar Khalid and All Political Prisoners (Hindus for Human Rights / Sep 2024)
Inconsistencies in Bail Orders Mean Individual Liberty Is the Outcome of Judicial Lottery (The Wire / Oct 2022)

‘How Long Can the Moon Be Caged?’: An investigation of how the state can stifle dissent brutally

‘How Long Can the Moon Be Caged?’: An investigation of how the state can stifle dissent brutally

Scroll.in / by Shevlin Sebastian

Suchitra Vijayan and Francesca Recchia also write about those who are battling to uphold individual and human rights.

Vijayan and Recchia talk at length about the notorious Bhima Koregaon case, where 16 activists, teachers, intellectuals, university professors, writers, and lawyers were arrested and charged with arms smuggling, for allegedly helping Maoists, and for hatching a plan to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi, apart from waging war against the state – Arun Ferreira, Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudhir Dhawale, Mahesh Raut, Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha, Hany Babu, Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor, Jyoti Jagtap, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, and Father Stan Swamy (who died tragically while imprisoned).
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How Long Can the Moon Be Caged? Voices of Indian Political Prisoners

Authors: Suchitra Vijayan and Francesca Recchia
Publishing Date: Aug 2023
Publisher: Pluto Press
Pages: 247
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Also read:
Process as Punishment – Recent books that bear witness to the BK-16’s incarceration (The Caravan / Jul 2024)
Bhima Koregaon: Challenging Caste. Brahminism’s wrath against dreamers of equality

Author: Ajaz Ashraf  
Publisher: AuthorsUpFront
Publishing Date: June 2024
Pages: 496
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The Incarcerations: Bhima Koregaon And The Search For Democracy In India

Author: Alpa Shah
Publishing Date: March 2024
Publisher: Harper Collins Publisher
Pages: 672
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Video: UnPanel – Future of Dissent | Dr. Anand Teltumbde @ #PrivacySupreme

Video: UnPanel – Future of Dissent | Dr. Anand Teltumbde @ #PrivacySupreme

The Wire / by The Wire

In this UnPanel session, Dr. Anand Teltumbde joined us remotely for Future of Dissent to answer the question of what does it mean to dissent in digital India? We explore how core democratic virtues like protests, dissent, and rights advocacy have become prone to targeted surveillance and privacy intrusions by the State. Read more about Privacy Supreme 2024 here.


en | 23:21min | 2024
Watch video


Also read:
How the State uses ‘national security’ to spellbind the process of justice (The Leaflet / Jul 2024)
A New Bill Shows Maharashtra Wants to Become a Police State Before Combatting Left-Wing Extremism (The Wire 7 Jul 2024)
AI Report: India’s exploitation of terrorism financing assessments to target the civil society (Amnesty.org / Sep 2023)
Maharashtra: Activists, Lawyers Added to ‘Union War Book’, Listed as ‘Enemies of the State’ (The Wire / Jul 2021)

Learning Curve: Teachers Are Expected To Guide Us, But Are Themselves Under Fire

Learning Curve: Teachers Are Expected To Guide Us, But Are Themselves Under Fire

Free Press Journal / by Vrijendra

The state of our teachers in higher education continues to become more and more perilous each passing year
As I write this, one more Teachers’ Day (September 5) has gone. Sadly, there is little to celebrate as the state of our teachers at all levels (let me confine it to teachers in higher education: in our colleges and universities and other institutions of higher education) continues to become more and more perilous each passing year.
… Finally, Dr Hany Babu, a DU professor and an anti-caste activist, completed four years in jail on July 28, 2024, without bail and no signs of an early trial. He was arrested under the UAPA in the Bhima-Koregaon Elgar Parishad case, along with other leading activists and academicians.
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Also read:
Hany Babu completes four years in prison without bail, trial (Maktoobmedia.com / Jul 2024)
Three years ago on this day Hany Babu was arrested in the infamous Bhima Koregaon case (Maktoobmedia.com / Jul 2024)

Activists and journalists continued to be targeted around elections despite UN Human Rights Committee scrutiny

Activists and journalists continued to be targeted around elections despite UN Human Rights Committee scrutiny

monitor.civicus.org / by CIVICUS

India’s civic space is rated as ‘repressed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. In recent years, the government has misused the draconian anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and other laws to keep activists behind bars and fabricate cases against activists and journalists for undertaking their work.
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Also read:
India: Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee on the deterioration of civic space (CIVICUS / Jul 2024)
CIVIC FREEDOMS IN INDIA ‘REPRESSED’: GLOBAL MONITOR CIVICUS (The Wire / March 2023)
Read full report „People Power Under Attack 2022“

What Freedom Means For India’s Political Prisoners / India Cries for Freedom!

What Freedom Means For India’s Political Prisoners / India Cries for Freedom!

Drawing by Arun Ferreira

What Freedom Means For India’s Political Prisoners

15/08/2024

Outlook / by Apsksha Priyadarshini

For political prisoners, freedom becomes a longing for small mercies that make us human
Maryam was six—the youngest of three siblings—when her father, Khalid Saifi, was arrested following the sectarian violence in northeast Delhi in February 2020. The violence took place against the backdrop of months of protests led by Muslim women at several sites across the national capital and in the country, against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed updates to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR). Maryam’s mother Nargis recalls the day as the beginning of “a dark, endless night” that has been written into their fates.
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The Freedoms Our Martyrs Won Are Under Seige

15/08/2024

Outlook / by Anand Teltumbde

This Independence Day, we are in an age in which we need assurances from our leader that the Constitution will survive
Seventy-seven years ago, our martyrs won freedom from British colonial rule. Three years later, we gave ourselves a Constitution that guaranteed a plethora of freedoms, inspired not by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) but the indigenous ethos of our own freedom movement. Today, having traversed into the Amrit Kaal, these guarantees appear to have expired, needing a new guarantee from our supreme ruler that the Constitution itself will survive. If the likes of Bhagat Singh were to see the state of India’s freedom today, they would certainly ask themselves what was wrong with the British rule that they went to the gallows fighting them.
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India Cries for Freedom!

13/08/2024

Countercurrents / by Cedric Prakash

India cries for Freedom: Thanks to the relentless struggles and sacrifices of our freedom fighters, on 15 August 1947, India made her tryst with destiny! After years of colonial rule, she finally became an independent nation. Ever since (during these past 77 years), India has made rapid strides in every sphere, and this fact must be applauded; however, one must also humbly admit that, India still has an unimaginable long way to go in the internalisation and actualisation of her freedom!

India cries for Freedom for Human rights defenders (HRDs), right to information seekers and others who take a stand for truth, justice and human rights. They are at the receiving end of a vicious and vindictive system. The are intimidated, incarcerated and even killed! These include those in the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case; Jesuit Father Stan Swamy is a case in point.
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Explained: The Supreme Court’s judgment against 24/7 surveillance as a bail condition

Explained: The Supreme Court’s judgment against 24/7 surveillance as a bail condition

The Leaflet / by Gursimran Kaur Bakshi

In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court has held that a bail condition enabling police to monitor the movement of an accused out on bail through mobile phones is illegal and violative of Article 21 of the Constitution.

It remains to be seen whether this judgment of the Supreme Court will provide relief to the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad accused Shoma Sen, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, upon whom the judiciary has imposed similar bail conditions or whether this will be another case of a progressive Order in one case which is not followed by a similar Order in another case.
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Also read:
If those on bail are tracked 24/7, has their liberty really been (partially) restored? (The Leaflet / May 2024)
Share Gps live location with nia 24×7: Supreme Court bail conditions for Shoma Sen (Bar & Bench / April 2024)
Supreme Court grants bail to Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, with tethers (The Leaflet / Jul 2023)
Inconsistencies in Bail Orders Mean Individual Liberty Is the Outcome of Judicial Lottery (The Wire / Oct 2022)