My Imprisonment Part of Scheme to Suppress Dissent, Intimidate Academics: DU Prof Hany Babu
20/12/2024
The Hindustan Gazette / by Waquar Hasan
Delhi University professor and civil rights activist Hany Babu, who was recently granted bail in the Bhima Koregaon case, has said that his imprisonment was part of a larger scheme to suppress dissent and intimidate academics, intellectuals, and activists who raise critical concerns.
…
“Five years inside the prison can actually destroy a person. The only way to withstand this is by doing positive things and refusing to bow down,” he said. “I’m a born Muslim, but I was not religious before my arrest. It was when I was arrested that I realized how vulnerable we all are, and that it is only a supreme power which maybe can kind of save you.” Read more
Prison, Pandemic and Survival: How Hany Babu’s Freedom Was Curtailed Long Before His Arrest
17/12/2025
The Wire / by Skanya Shantha
After more than five years in jail, academic Hany Babu recounts how arrest, illness and neglect reshaped his life, scholarship and understanding of the prison system.
…
During his imprisonment, Babu and his co-accused in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case waged numerous battles—not only for their own survival, but for the dignity of all prisoners. They fought for better food, adequate medical care and other basic rights, securing small but hard-won victories along the way. Read more
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.
Bail ! Gautam with his partner Sabha Husain. May 2024.
Bombay High Court allows Gautam Navlakha to return to Delhi, relaxes restrictive bail condition in Bhima Koregaon Case
17/12/2025
SabrangIndia / by SabrangIndia
Court recognises financial hardship, prolonged trial delay, and the human cost of territorial bail restrictions on a 73-year-old activist; NIA conditions accepted to ensure continued oversight
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday, December 17, relaxed the bail conditions imposed on human rights activist and Elgar Parishad–Bhima Koregaon case accused Gautam Navlakha, permitting him to relocate from Mumbai to his permanent residence in Delhi. The relief was granted by a division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Shyam C. Chandak, which acknowledged the personal, financial, and social hardship Navlakha has faced since his release on bail. Read more
Bombay High Court allows Gautam Navlakha to move to Delhi till trial ends
17/12/2025
Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi
Navlakha was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in December 2023 with the condition that he could not leave the Court’s jurisdiction without prior permission.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday permitted human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, to shift base to New Delhi for the pendency of the trial. [Gautam Navlakha v. National Investigation Authority] Read more
Bombay High Court allows Gautam Navlakha to move to Delhi while on bail
17/12/2025
Maktoobmedia.com / by Maktoob Staff
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday allowed human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, who is out on bail in the Bhima Koregaon UAPA case, to shift and reside in New Delhi during the pendency of the case.
The human rights activist was, however, directed not to leave Delhi without the trial court’s permission and will have to surrender his passport to the concerned authorities. Read more
Bombay High Court allows Gautam Navlakha to shift from Mumbai to Delhi during pendency of Elgaar Parishad case
17/12/2025
The Indian Express / by Omkar Gokhale
The Bombay High Court cited Gautam Navlakha’s age and financial struggles as reasons for relaxing his bail conditions in the Elgaar Parishad case.
The Bombay High Court Wednesday allowed human rights activist Gautam Navlakha to shift and reside in New Delhi during the pendency of the Elgaar Parishad case, in which he is an accused out on bail. Navlakha is, however, directed not to leave Delhi without the trial court’s permission, and he will have to surrender his passport to the authorities concerned. Read more
Bombay HC says it is inclined to allow Gautam Navlakha to return to Delhi
16/12/2025
Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff
The bench noted that the journalist and activist is 73 years old and lives away from his family.
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday indicated verbally that it was inclined to allow Gautam Navlakha, one of 16 persons accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case, to move to his home in Delhi until the trial commences, Live Law reported.
The bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Shyam Chandak, said that the 73-year-old journalist and activist is not a flight risk and has been complying with bail conditions, PTI reported. Read more
Bombay High Court indicates it may allow Gautam Navlakha to shift to Delhi until Bhima Koregaon trial begins
16/12/2025
Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi
A bail condition restricts Navlakha from leaving the jurisdiction of Bombay High Court.
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday indicated that it will permit human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad case, to shift to his Delhi home until the trial in the case commences. Read more
“Person At This Age Would Be Lost Away From Family”: Bombay High Court Orally Remarks In Gautam Navlakha’s Plea To Shift Back To Delhi
16/12/2025
Live Law / by Narsi Benwal
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday indicated its inclination to permit rights activist Gautam Navlakha to relocate to Delhi, while hearing his plea seeking relaxation of a bail condition that restrains him from leaving Mumbai in the Elgar Parishad–Bhima Koregaon case.
The matter was heard by a Division Bench of Justice Bharati Dangre and Justice Shyam Chandak. Read more
I realised that through Allah I can have the strength to face what was before me: Hany Babu
15/12/2025
Frontline / by Ajaz Ashraf
The activist says prison strips life of meaning, and faith in Allah became a source of strength during his five years in jail.
… In this interview, Hany Babu talks about freedom, the daily brutalities of jail life, and the turn towards Islam and Allah that sustained him during his imprisonment.
Edited excerpts: You were arrested on July 28, 2020, and released on bail on December 4 this year (2025). How does freedom feel from inside and outside jail? Does it involve aspects of life that we take for granted only because they seem insignificant?
I was in jail for five years and four months. What you say about insignificant aspects of life constituting freedom is indeed true. Read more
‘When you are jailed, they want to break you. The best way to resist is to not succumb’: Hany Babu
15/12/2025
The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak
Out on bail, Elgaar Parishad case accused speaks about his five years in prison, staying in touch with family, and letter exchanges that felt like “living in multiple time zones.”
For the five years that he spent in jail as an undertrial in the Elgaar Parishad case, says Hany Babu M T, he often dreamt that he was back teaching at Delhi University, attending academic conferences, or meeting authorities over implementation of OBC reservation (a pet concern of his). Read more
Indian Jesuits to continue fight to clear Father Stan Swamy’s name
18/12/2025
UCA News / by Michael Gonsalves
Court-appointed guardian to file fresh petition against official report concluding it was a ‘natural,’ not ‘custodial death’
Jesuits in India say they will continue the legal battle to clear the name of their late confrere, Father Stan Swamy, who died in police custody while awaiting trial for alleged sedition and anti-state activities four years ago.
The 84-year-old Jesuit who died in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) on July 5, 2021, was widely respected as an activist priest for his work among tribal people in eastern Jharkhand and other states for more than five decades. Read more
Ex-St Xavier’s College principal to challenge Stan Swamy’s custodial death report
12/12/2025
India Today / by Vidya
The magistrate’s enquiry report, submitted by the Maharashtra government two months back, confirmed that Swamy died due to natural causes. The report, prepared by Bandra Magistrate Komalsing Rajput following an enquiry on April 24, 2024, concluded that the 84-year-old activist died from “septicemia due to lobar pneumonia (natural).
The Bombay High Court on Thursday permitted Frazer Mascarenhance, the former principal of St. Xavier’s College, to file a fresh petition, challenging the enquiry report of the late Father Stan Swamy in the Elgar Parishad case in 2018. Read more
Bombay High Court Disposes Of Plea Seeking To Quash Observations Against Father Stan Swamy In Elgar Parishad – Bhima Koregaon Case
12/12/2025
Live Law / by Narsi Benwal
The Bombay High Court on Thursday disposed of a petition filed in December 2021 by the next of kin of Father Stan Swamy, who sought clearing the now deceased (Swamy’s) name from the Elgar Parishad – Bhima Koregaon case.
The plea was filed by Father Fraser Mascarenhas, the former principal of Xavier’s College in Mumbai through senior advocate Mihir Desai, argued that the findings of the special NIA court against Swamy “besmirches” his reputation and body of work in tribal and human rights. The findings further violate his fundamental right to reputation under Article 21 of the Constitution. Accordingly, they should be quashed. Read more
Bombay High Court Disposes Plea to Quash Remarks Against Fr. Stan Swamy
12/12/2025
Catholicconnect.in / by Catholic Connect Reporter
The Bombay High Court on Thursday disposed of a petition filed in December 2021 by the next of kin of Father Stan Swamy, who sought to clear the now deceased priest’s name from the Elgar Parishad–Bhima Koregaon case. The plea, filed by Fr. Frazer Mascarenhas, former principal of St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai, through senior advocate Mihir Desai, argued that the findings of the special NIA court against Swamy “besmirches” his reputation and body of work in tribal and human rights. The findings, they argued, violated his fundamental right to reputation under Article 21 of the Constitution and should therefore be quashed. Read more
Jesuit priest to challenge reports declaring Stan Swamy’s death natural, HC allows fresh plea
12/12/2025
Hindustan Times / by Karuna Nidhi
Father Frazer Mascarenhas plans to challenge reports declaring Father Stan Swamy’s death natural, citing prison conditions as a factor in his health decline.
Father Frazer Mascarenhas, former principal of St Xavier’s College and a close associate of the late Father Stan Swamy, told the Bombay High Court on Thursday that he intends to challenge both the magistrate’s inquiry report and the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) order that upheld it. The two reports had concluded that Swamy, who died in custody while awaiting trial in the Elgar Parishad case, had died a natural death. Read more
Stan Swamy’s kin to challenge magistrate report, SHRC finding death due to natural causes
12/12/2025
The Indian Express / by Express News Service
Mascarenhas said the magistrate’s report had concluded that Swamy’s death was due to natural causes, a finding later affirmed by the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC).
Father Frazer Mascarenhas, former principal of St Xavier’s College, on Thursday told the Bombay High Court that he will challenge the magistrate’s judicial inquiry report into the custodial death of his late friend Father Stan Swamy, an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case. Read more
▪ I am not a Silent Spectator – Why Truth has become so bitter, Dissent so intolarable, Justice so out of reach – An Autobiographical Fragment, Memory and Reflection (Indian Social Institute | by Stan Swamy | Aug 2021)
Edition: Aug 2021
Publisher: Indian Social Institute, Bangalore
Language: English
Paperback: 149 pages
‘Why truth has become so bitter, dissent so intolerable, justice so out of reach?’ because truth has become very bitter to those in power and position, dissent, so unpalatable to the ruling elite, justice, so out of reach to the powerless, marginalised, deprived people. Yet, truth must be spoken, right to dissent must be upheld, and justice must reach the doorsteps of the poor. I am not a silent spectator. This booklet is not my autobiography. It is rather a collation of some glimpses/episodes from my life that somehow made a difference for me, and possibly for my confrères, colleagues and the people with whom I have shared my life.
by Maktoob / @MaktoobMedia (Dec 6, 2025):
Dr. Hany Babu walks out of jail after spending nearly 2,000 days under UAPA
Dr. Hany Babu, scholar and noted social justice activist, walked out of jail today after he was granted bail by the Bombay High Court, spending over five and a half years in jail under UAPA in the Bhima Koregaon
After more than five years in prison, Prof. Hany Babu granted regular bail in Bhima Koregaon case
05/12/2025
The Leaflet / by The Leaflet
With Prof. Babu being granted bail, twelve persons arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case are now out on bail.
On Thursday, the Bombay High Court granted regular bail to former Delhi University professor Hany Babu in connection with the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case.
A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Gadkari and Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale ordered Babu’s release on the ground of prolonged pre-trial incarceration.
Babu was arrested on April 14, 2020 and has been in jail ever since. He has spent more than five years behind bars as an undertrial prisoner. Read more
Bombay High Court grants bail to Bhima Koregaon accused Hany Babu after 5 years in jail [Read order]
04/12/2025
Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi
Babu was arrested on July 28, 2020, and has been in custody for over five years.
The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to Delhi University professor Hany Babu arrested in 2018 for his alleged involvement in the Bhima Koregaon violence case [Hany Babu v. National Investigation Agency & Ors.].
The prosecuting agency sought a stay on the order to enable them to file an appeal against it before the Supreme Court. Read more Read order
Bombay HC bail for Hany Babu signals a critical reassessment of the Bhima Koregaon Case
Bombay HC bail for Hany Babu signals a critical reassessment of the Bhima Koregaon Case
09/12/2025
CJP / by CJP Team
After five years under UAPA, the High Court’s ruling marks a turning point in a case marred by shaky forensics, delays, and constitutional concerns
Coming after years of custodial denial, contested digital evidence and prolonged trial delays, the order signals a renewed judicial pushback against punitive pre-trial detention. In a significant development in the long-running Bhima Koregaon prosecutions, the Bombay High Court has granted bail to former Delhi University professor Hany Babu, nearly five years after his arrest under the UAPA. While the detailed judgment is awaited, the court’s decision marks an important moment in a case where bail has historically been the exception rather than the norm. Babu’s incarceration—tied to the Pune Police and NIA’s theory of a wider “urban Maoist” conspiracy—has drawn sustained rights-based scrutiny due to extensive delays, grave medical concerns, and international forensic analyses indicating that incriminating files on co-accused devices may have been planted. The order situates itself within evolving judicial recognition that excessively long UAPA detention raises constitutional concerns of liberty, due process and investigative overreach. Read more
After more than five years in prison, Prof. Hany Babu granted regular bail in Bhima Koregaon case
05/12/2025
The Leaflet / by The Leaflet
With Prof. Babu being granted bail, twelve persons arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case are now out on bail.
On Thursday, the Bombay High Court granted regular bail to former Delhi University professor Hany Babu in connection with the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case.
…
As many as twelve accused are out on bail:
– On February 22, 2021, the Bombay High Court granted P. Varavara Rao medical bail. Later, the Supreme Court granted permanent medical bail to him.
– On December 1, 2021, the Bombay High Court granted Sudha Bharadwaj default bail. Later, the Supreme Court confirmed her release on bail.
– On November 18, 2022, the Bombay High Court granted Anand Teltumbde bail on merits. Later, the Supreme Court dismissed NIA’s plea against his bail.
– On July 28, 2023, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira were granted regular bail by the Supreme Court on July 28, 2023 after finding no prima facie case against them.
– On April 5, 2024, Shoma Sen was granted regular bail by the Supreme Court finding no prima facie case against her.
– On May 14, 2024, the Supreme Court lifted the stay on the bail earlier granted to Gautam Navlakha.
– In January 2025, the Bombay High Court granted bail to Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale.
– Recently, co-accused Jyoti Jagtap was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court, while Mahesh Raut was granted interim bail on medical grounds. Raut already has an order in his favour on merits, but the Supreme Court continued the stay on his regular bail for two years.
– Now, the Bombay High Court granted Hany Babu bail. Read more
And then there were 3: One more granted bail, charges not framed yet, Elgaar Parishad case creaks
04/12/2025
The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak and Omkar Gokhale
In several cases, such as in Hany Babu’s Thursday, courts have cited long incarceration to grant bail. They have also commented on poor evidence to substantiate terror charges
With former Delhi University professor Hany Babu granted bail by the Bombay High Court Thursday, only three of the 16 arrested by the Pune police and NIA in the Elgaar Parishad case remain behind bars. Read more
Hany Babu granted bail after 1,955 days in jail in Bhima Koregaon case [Read order]
“I am happy but also angry and sad that an innocent professor (Dr. Hany Babu) was made to spend five years and four months in jail without even a trial, just for being socially conscious and working for the good of the university where he was employed,” said @jennyrowena , Delhi University professor and wife of Dr. Hany Babu, to Maktoob, reacting to the news that Babu was granted bail by the Bombay High Court after languishing in jail for nearly 2,000 days in the Bhima Koregaon case under UAPA charges.
After close to 2000 days in jail on a fabricated case concocted by the present BJP government, Professor Hany Babu will finally be released on bail that was granted by the Bombay HC.
SHAME on this govt and the judiciary for keeping him in jail for this long with NO TRIAL
Greeshma Kuthar
Independent journalist
Source: @jeegujja
Delhi University professor Hany Babu granted bail after 1,955 days in jail in Bhima Koregaon case
04/12/2025
Maktoob Media / by Maktoob Staff
The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to Delhi University professor and noted academic Dr. Hany Babu, who was arrested in 2020 in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case and charged under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), his partner and fellow academic Jenny Rowena told Maktoob.
A division bench of Justice AS Gadkari and Justice Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale granted him bail. Read more
Bombay High Court grants bail to Bhima Koregaon accused Hany Babu after 5 years in jail [Read order]
04/12/2025
Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi
Babu was arrested on July 28, 2020, and has been in custody for over five years.
The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to Delhi University professor Hany Babu arrested in 2018 for his alleged involvement in the Bhima Koregaon violence case [Hany Babu v. National Investigation Agency & Ors.].
The prosecuting agency sought a stay on the order to enable them to file an appeal against it before the Supreme Court. Read more Read order
After 5 Yrs In Jail, Bombay High Court Grants Bail To Former DU Professor Hany Babu
04/12/2025
Live Law / by LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK
The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to former Delhi University Professor Hany Babu, who has been booked for his alleged role in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case.
A division bench of Justice AS Gadkari and Justice Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale granted him bail. A detailed order in the matter is awaited. Read more
Hany Babu Gets Bail After Five Years and Four Months in Jail Without Trial
04/12/2025
The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha
Soon after the court granted him bail, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which is handling the case sought a stay on the order to be able to appeal against it before the Supreme Court. The Bombay high court rejected it.
The Bombay high court today called the five-year-and-four-month-long incarceration without trial of Hany Babu an “inordinate delay” and granted bail to the Delhi university associate professor who had been arrested in the Elgar Parishad case.
The bail application moved early this year was kept for orders after the arguments were concluded on October 3. A division bench of Justices Ajey S Gadkari and Ranjitsinha R Bhonsale pronounced the verdict today, December 4. Read more
Hany Babu, accused in Elgaar Parishad case, gets relief after 5 years in prison without trial
04/12/2025
The Indian Express / by Omkar Gokhale
Hany Babu, accused in Elgaar Parishad case, has secured a bail from the Bombay High Court.
The Bombay High Court has granted bail to former Delhi University associate professor Hany Babu, accused in Elgaar Parishad case. Babu had sought bail on the ground of prolonged incarceration of over five years without trial. Read more
Academic Hany Babu’s bail hearing to take place after five years in jail without trial
04/12/2025
Pen International / by Ross Holder
Update (4 December 2025): The Bombay High Court has granted bail to Hany Babu, following his application on the basis of his prolonged detention without trial. Following the completion of formalities by the court, Hany Babu is expected to be released in the coming days. PEN International welcomes the court’s decision and celebrates Hany Babu’s release. He should never have been detained, and his subjection to over five years’ detention without trial remains an appalling injustice and is a dark chapter for India’s legal system. Read more
Also watch/read:
▪ Video: Hany Babu’s story By MaktoobMedia en | 10:57 | 2025 Watch video
Digital rights groups warn that forcing an app onto every device could allow the government to spy on Indians and even control their devices.
… On social media, founder and editor of technology policy website Medianama, Nikhil Pahwa, illustrated just what this ability to control a user’s mobile phone would look like. “A government application can also be used to implant files on your device,” he said. “[It] has happened before, in the Bhima Koregaon case where documents were allegedly put on laptops and used to frame a conspiracy.” Read more
Credits: Drawing by Arun Ferreira / The Polis Project
Scroll.in / by Sahil Hussain Choudhury
The law speaks the language of liberty, but power uses to the grammar of postponement.
In The Cell and the Soul: A Prison Memoir, Anand Teltumbde notes that incarceration does not only test the body – it also tests whether the mind will refuse to surrender. …
The National Crime Records Bureau’s Prison Statistics India 2023 shows that nearly 73.5% of India’s prisoners are undertrials – people not yet convicted of any crime. Behind that abstraction lies a quieter truth: for most who enter the system, justice never arrives; only waiting does. Read more
▪ From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada Author: Sudha Bhardwaj Publishing Date: Oct 2023 Publisher: Juggernaut Pages: 216 Read more/order
▪ The Feared – Conversations with Eleven Political Prisoners Author: Neeta Kolhatkar Publishing Date: Dec 2024 Publisher: S&S India Pages: 272 Read more/order
▪ 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 Read more / order
The Supreme Court directed Maharashtra to ensure proper functioning of virtual conferencing during hearings in the 2016 Gadchiroli arson case after repeated technical failures. Hearing Surendra Gadling’s bail plea, the court urged expedited trial proceedings and re-listed the matter for January, addressing delays and pending applications in the case.
The Supreme Court, on Monday, told Maharashtra authorities to ensure that virtual conferencing facilities function properly during hearings in the 2016 Gadchiroli arson case, after Surendra Gadling’s counsel complained that the video conferencing (VC) system routinely fails when the lawyer-activist is produced before the trial court, reports legal portal livelaw.in. Read more
Ensure Proper VC Facilities In Trial Of 2016 Gadchiroli Arson Case : Supreme Court To Maharashtra
01/12/2025
Live Law / by Debby Jain
The Supreme Court on Monday told Maharashtra authorities to ensure that virtual conferencing facilities function properly during hearings in the 2016 Gadchiroli arson case, after Surendra Gadling’s counsel complained that the VC system routinely fails when the lawyer-activist is produced before the trial court.
The bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi was hearing Gadling’s bail plea. Gadling, who has spent 6 years and 10 months in custody, told the Court that he has been unfairly “branded” only because he appeared as counsel in certain Naxalite cases. Read more
Supreme Court Questions 6-Year Delay in Surendra Gadling Case, Seeks Quick Decision on Key Bhima Koregaon Records
01/12/2025
LawChakra / by Hardik Khandelwal
The Supreme Court raised concerns over Surendra Gadling’s six-and-a-half-year custody without trial, directing a quick decision on pending applications. Gadling argued prolonged delays, missing electronic evidence, and unequal treatment as other accused are already on bail.
The Supreme Court of India today heard the bail plea of Surendra Gadling, who is an accused in the Elgar Parishad–Maoist links case.
The matter, titled Surendra Pundalik Gadling v. State of Maharashtra (Crl.A. No. 3742/2023), came before a Bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi. Read more
