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As Bhima Koregaon case completes its fourth anniversary, State reprisal is writ large in its twists and turns

As Bhima Koregaon case completes its fourth anniversary, State reprisal is writ large in its twists and turns

The Leaflet / by Nihalsing Rathod

As we have completed four years since the first arrest in the Elgar Parishad case, a quick recap of how 16 renowned human rights activists were jailed may be useful.
There is much more than meets the eye. Maybe we will have a few answers after the trial ends, but not all. It would be difficult to say what exactly caused the arrest of these 16 eminent persons, but we can definitely relook at the turn of events and try to understand what really happened.
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Also read:
● ‘We are all prisoners of conscience’, say those facing trial in Bhima Koregaon case on the occasion of fourth anniversary of their arrests [read letter] (The Leaflet / June 2022)
● 3 years after Bhima Koregaon: How criminal law was violated (The Leaflet / June 2021)

‘Death of Imagination’ / Hindutva, Sangh Parivar, UAPA: Penguin Censors Words From VV Rao’s Book

‘Death of Imagination’ / Hindutva, Sangh Parivar, UAPA: Penguin Censors Words From VV Rao’s Book

Penguin Random House Drops ‘Hindutva’, Other Words From Varavara Rao’s Latest Book: Report

05/06/2022

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

The said words, from the book which is yet to be released, have been removed by the publishers’ legal team purportedly to avoid attracting charges such as sedition or defamation.
Penguin Random House India’s legal team has allegedly removed words like ‘Hindutva’, ‘Sangh Parivar’ and ‘saffronisation’ from Telugu poet Varavara Rao’s latest book Varavara Rao: A Revolutionary Poet, the Quint has reported.
The book, which is yet to be released, will become the first English-translated collection of poems by the 81-year-old Rao, who was arrested in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case. He is at present out on medical bail.
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‘Death of Imagination’: Meena Kandasamy on Penguin Censoring Varavara Rao’s Book

04/06/2022

The Quint / by Nikhila Henry

Meena Kandasamy, an editor of Varavara Rao’s book, says climate of fear among publishers is real in India.
Penguin Random House (PRH), a leading publisher in India, has prescribed removal of several words including ‘Hindutva,’ ‘Sangh Parivar,’ and ‘Ayodhya,’ from Telugu poet Varavara Rao’s book – Varavara Rao: The Revolutionary Poet.
Poet, novelist, and translator Meena Kandasamy, who is one of the editors of the book, speaks to The Quint in an interview about the legal vetting.
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Hindutva, Sangh Parivar, UAPA: Penguin Censors Words From Varavara Rao’s Book

03/06/2022

The Quint / by Nkikhila Henry

References to ‘revolution,’ saffronisation’ and ‘Ayodhya’ in poet Varavara Rao’s poems were flagged by Penguin.
Penguin Random House India, a leading publisher in the country, has prescribed censorship of Telugu poet Varavara Rao’s poems for fear of being slapped with sedition and defamation charges, reveal comments from the legal team of the publisher, posted on the latest edit of the book Varavara Rao: A Revolutionary Poet.
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Also read:
● ‘Legal Row’: Penguin Censors Poems, Then Stalls Varavara Rao’s Book Indefinitely (The Quint / Nov 2021)

Koregaon Bhima Panel summons Pune divisional commissioner to appear as witness

Koregaon Bhima Panel summons Pune divisional commissioner to appear as witness

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

The two-member commission, headed by retired judge Justice J N Patel, is probing into the cause of violence in the Koregaon Bhima area on January 1, 2018, in which one person had died and several others were left injured.
Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry has summoned IAS officer Saurabh Rao, who is currently the divisional commissioner of Pune, to appear as a witness during the hearings on June 6 and 7.
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Also read:
● Bhima Koregaon: Is Milind Ekbote Being Protected? (rediff.com / Feb 2022)
● Let’s Remember the Lesson of Bhima Koregaon: Down with the New Peshwai (Sanhati│ by Sudhir Dhawale │ March 2018)

And he waits for Shoma Sen

And he waits for Shoma Sen

Midday / by Ajaz Ashraf

Falling in love while trying to affect a change in the society, as their hearts beat for adivasis and dalits, the couple has now spent in jail nine out of 31 years of their life together.
I called up Tushar Kanti Bhattacharya, husband of Shoma Sen, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, on May 9, with a request: could he tell me their story—she languishing in jail and he alone outside? He said it was on this day in 1991 that Shoma and he were married. 
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Also read:
● And she waits for Gautam Navlakha (Midday / May 2022)

Sedition law: Lawyers and free speech activists welcome SC order / A Decade of Darkness

Sedition law: Lawyers and free speech activists welcome SC order / A Decade of Darkness


Drawing by Arun Ferreira

Sedition law: Lawyers and free speech activists welcome SC order

12/05/2022

The Economic Times / by Vasudha Venugopal

Nagpur-based lawyer Nihalsingh Rathod, who represents many accused in the Elgar Parishad case said the legislature should have re-examined the relevance of sedition a long time ago. The Supreme Court’s interim order was an important step in rights jurisprudence, he said.
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KEEP THE SEDITION LAW IN ABEYANCE: SUPREME COURT RULES IN A HISTORIC ORDER [read order]

11/05/2022

Live Law / by Livelaw News Network

In a historic development, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered that the 152-year old sedition law under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code should be effectively kept in abeyance till the Union Government reconsiders the provision.
In an interim order, the Court urged the Centre and the State governments to refrain from registering any FIRs under the said provision while it was under re-consideration.
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A Decade of Darkness: Our New Database Reveals How A Law Discarded By Most Democracies Is Misused In India

04/02/2022

Article 14 / by Lubhyathi Rangarajan

For 151 years, Indians expressing their right to free speech and expression have faced the prospect of being accused of sedition: ‘showing disaffection’ towards the State under section 124A of the Indian Penal Code. Our new database counts 13,000 people charged with sedition between 2010-2021 and provides unprecedented insight into India’s use of a law discarded by most democracies. Its use has risen inexorably over the last decade, most recently against public protests, dissent, social-media posts, criticism of the government and even over cricket results.
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Also read:
● Explainer: How the Sedition Law Has Been Used in the Modi Era (The Wire / Mai 2022)

Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry calls for Elgaar Parishad video

Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry calls for Elgaar Parishad video

Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry calls for Elgaar Parishad video

09/02/2022

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

The two-member commission headed by retired justice J N Patel is probing the cause of the violence in the Koregaon Bhima area of the Pune district on January 1, 2018, in which one person had died and several others were left injured.
The Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry has asked special public prosecutor Shishir Hiray to obtain and submit the video of the Elgaar Parishad held in Pune in December 2017.
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Podcast: Disha Wadekar talks about Ambedkarite history in Pune City, Bhima Koregaon in 2018 …

09/02/2022

By Anurag Minus Verma Podcast


en | 1h39min | 2022
Listen to the podcast

Anurag Minus Verma Podcast in Conversation with Disha Wadekar (#44 Disha Wadekar)
Disha is an advocate practicing in the Supreme Court. She has also headed a legal resource centre and is co-founder of CEDE.

Topics Discussed in the podcast: Rarely discussed Ambedkarite history about Pune City; What happened at the Bhim Koregaon in 2018; Vimukta identity and criminal act; Delta Meghwal rape case and struggle of the family for justice; Community for the Eradication of Discrimination in Education and Employment (CEDE), a network of lawyers, law firms, judges, and other organizations and individuals, who are committed to reforming the Indian legal profession.

Also read:
● Bhima Koregaon: Is Milind Ekbote Being Protected? (rediff.com / Feb 2022)
● Witness Before Probe Panel Accuses Sambhaji Bhide & Milind Ekbote Of Instigating Bhima Koregaon Riots (Live Law / Oct 2021)

Ten recusals in Bhima Koregaon raises the question: Should judges disclose reasons for withdrawal?

Ten recusals in Bhima Koregaon raises the question: Should judges disclose reasons for withdrawal?

Scroll.in / by Umang Poddar

Would disclosing reasons reduce the controversy around mass recusals?
On April 19, Justice Sadhana Jadhav of the Bombay High Court recused herself from hearing petitions related to the Bhima Koregaon case. She was part of a two-judge bench that was hearing petitions relating to the quashing of cases against activists Rona Wilson and Shoma Sen and the bail plea of advocate Surendra Gadling, amongst other petitions.
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Irony of Sharad Pawar’s support for Bhima Koregaon accused

Irony of Sharad Pawar’s support for Bhima Koregaon accused

Irony of Sharad Pawar’s support for Bhima Koregaon accused

09/05/2022

Deccan Herald / by Vidya

That Pawar has done nothing is a testimony to the clout wielded in Maharashtra politics by ‘Bhide Guruji’
It took Delhi-based writer-activist Gautam Navlakha 75 days to get court permission to walk in the open in Taloja Jail and get the fresh air he’s deprived of in the high-security anda cell he’s been consigned to since October. Seventy-year-old Navlakha, one of 16 intellectuals arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case, has been denied a chair despite developing back pain during his two-year-long incarceration. Last month, the Bombay High Court rejected his plea for house arrest and instead directed the Taloja Jail authorities to provide him with whatever medical care he needed.
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Why Sharad Pawar Is Against The Bhima Koregaon 16’s Arrests

06/05/2022

Rediff.com / by Jyoti Punwani

Despite Sharad Pawar’s assertion, the Maharashtra government has done nothing to ease the suffering of the Bhima Koregaon 16, who have been denied their basic rights to health and to communication with their families while in jail.
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Koregaon Bhima and Elgar Parishad are two different episodes: Sharad Pawar

Koregaon Bhima and Elgar Parishad are two different episodes: Sharad Pawar

‘Speech within the ambit of the Constitution not anti-national’: Sharad Pawar tells Bhima Koregaon probe panel

06/05/2022

The Leaflet / by Sabah Gurmat

The NCP chief dodged questions on the role of Hindutva leaders, Shambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote.
The Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry, on Thursday, called upon Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sharad Pawar to depose as a witness before the commission.
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Speeches within ambit of Constitution not anti-national: Sharad Pawar to Bhima Koregaon Commission

05/05/2022

Bar & Bench / by Narsi Benwal

During his deposition, Pawar also stated that it is necessary for a political leader to take precautions to ensure that his address to people is not inflammatory resulting in disturbance to law and order and peace.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief and Member of Rajya Sabha Sharad Pawar on Thursday told the Bhima Koregaon Commission of Inquiry that persons making speeches within the ambit of the Constitution are not anti-national.
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Koregaon Bhima and Elgar Parishad are two different episodes: Sharad Pawar

05/05/2022

The Times of India / by Swati Dshpande

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar and Member of Parliament (MP) of Rajya Sabha on Monday deposed before the Koregaon Bhima commission of inquiry and said “Koregaon Bhima and Elgar Parishad are two different episodes.
In respect of cases filed by the Police relating to Elgar Parishad, I have stated that it was not correct/proper on the part of Police to have filed cases against certain persons who were not present at the Elgar Parishad held on 31st December, 2017 at Shanivarwada, Pune).”
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Hindutva leader Sambhaji Bhide’s name dropped from Bhima Koregaon case, say police

Hindutva leader Sambhaji Bhide’s name dropped from Bhima Koregaon case, say police

Hindutva leader Sambhaji Bhide’s name dropped from Bhima Koregaon case, say police

05/05/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

He had been booked for allegedly instigating caste violence which resulted in death of a person in a Pune village in 2018.
The Maharashtra Police have dropped Hindutva leader Sambhaji Bhide’s name from the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence case, PTI reported on Wednesday. In a report filed before the Maharashtra Human Rights Commission, the police submitted that the Bhide was not found to have played any role in the violence, PTI reported.
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Bhide’s name dropped from Bhima Koregaon case: Police

04/05/2022

Hindustan Times / by HT Correspondent

The name of Sambhaji Bhide has been dropped from the 2018 Koregaon-Bhima violence case as no evidence was found against the right-wing leader, Pune rural police said in a report filed before the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission on Wednesday.
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Also read:
● Witness Before Probe Panel Accuses Sambhaji Bhide & Milind Ekbote Of Instigating Bhima Koregaon Riots (Live Law / Oct 2021)
● Casting a Veil – What we miss by ignoring Maratha caste politics in the Bhima Koregaon case (The Caravan / Dec 2020)