Browsed by
Category: Persecution

After 6.5 years in jail: Sudhir Dhawale and Rona Wilson released from Taloja Central Jail

After 6.5 years in jail: Sudhir Dhawale and Rona Wilson released from Taloja Central Jail

Pic shared by @DelhiSourya

Activists Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale released from jail

24/01/2025

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The Bombay High Court granted them bail on January 8, stating that ‘there is no possibility of the trial to conclude in the near future’.
Activists Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale were released from jail in Navi Mumbai on Friday, more than two weeks after the Bombay High Court granted them bail in the Bhima Koregaon case, PTI reported.
The High Court granted them bail on January 8, stating that the activists had been in jail since 2018 and “there is no possibility of the trial to conclude in the near future”.
Read more

Activists Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson released from Taloja Central Jail

24/01/2025

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Sudhir Dhawale and Rona Wilson were earlier granted bail by the Bombay High Court on grounds of long incarceration without trial.
ctivists Sudhir Dhawale and Rona Wilson, both of whom were arrested in the Elgaar Parishad case in 2018, were released from Taloja Central Jail on Friday afternoon. The two were granted bail by the Bombay High Court on January 8. Their lawyers completed the bail procedures on Thursday before the Mumbai trial court, after which release memos were issued.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale Get Bail After 6.5 Years of Jail in Elgar Parishad Case (The Wire / Jan 2025)

With Guards Unavailable Due to Coldplay Concert, Elgar Parishad Undertrials Consider Hunger Strike

With Guards Unavailable Due to Coldplay Concert, Elgar Parishad Undertrials Consider Hunger Strike

Elgaar Parishad accused threaten hunger strike after Navi Mumbai Police diverts guards for Coldplay concert

18/01/2025

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

The Navi Mumbai police had said that 1,000 police personnel will be deployed for duty at the concert.
The Navi Mumbai police commissionerate has informed the Taloja Central Jail, where the male Elgaar Parishad accused are lodged. The jail was informed that all guards are deployed at the Coldplay concert which is to take place on Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday and hence, guards will not be available to produce undertrials for court hearings or other scheduled visits like the hospital.
Read more

With Guards Unavailable Due to Coldplay Concert, Elgar Parishad Undertrials Mull Hunger Strike

18/01/2025

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

The unavailability of prison guards means prisoners will miss out on scheduled court and hospital visits.
For music lovers, while the Coldplay concert promises to be an exciting event to look forward to, for those incarcerated at the Taloja Central Jail located on the outskirts of Mumbai, the next three days of the concert come with an unintended consequence: missing their scheduled court and hospital visits.
Read more

Also read:
▪ The Elgar prisoners’ latest hunger strike marks a momentous victory for prison rights (The Polis Project / Nov 2024)
▪ Elgar Parishad case accused seeks contempt action against Navi Mumbai cop (India Today / Oct 2024)
▪ Arrested BK16 Poet Alleges Intimidation After Protesting Prison Corruption (Indiejournal.in / Jul 2024)
▪ Exorbitant Prices of Food, Corrupt Officials Divert Ration to VIP Prisoners: Jailed Activists (The Wire / Aug 2024)
▪ Hunger Strike unto death against the harassment from Taloja Central Jail’s apathetic administration (By Sagar Gorkhe / May 2022)

Bombay HC tells special NIA court to expedite trial, complete framing of charges within 9 months

Bombay HC tells special NIA court to expedite trial, complete framing of charges within 9 months

Why Rona Wilson & Sudhir Dhawale were granted bail after 6 yrs in jail

15/01/2025

The Print / by Khadija Khan

Wilson, a researcher, and Dhawale, an activist, were booked under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which has strict bail provisions. Bombay HC relied on a 2021 SC ruling.
Trial in the Elgar Parishad or Bhima Koregaon violence case is not likely to end soon, given that the prosecution has named 363 persons as its witnesses. With this crucial observation and noting that charges have not yet been framed in the case filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Bombay High Court last week granted bail to researcher Rona Wilson and activist Sudhir Dhawale.
Read more

Bombay HC tells special NIA court to expedite trial, complete framing of charges within 9 months

15/01/2025

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

The court’s directive came while granting bail to Elgaar Parishad accused activists Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhavale, citing prolonged incarceration of over six and half years.
The Bombay High Court has asked the special court designated under National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act to expedite the trial in Elgaar Parishad case and said that framing of charges be completed within nine months.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale Get Bail After 6.5 Years of Jail in Elgar Parishad Case (The Wire / Jan 2025)

NIA court rejects Surendra Gadling’s plea for walks in jail premises

NIA court rejects Surendra Gadling’s plea for walks in jail premises

Credits: Drawing by Arun Ferreira / The Polis Project

Better take complete bed rest if you are suffering: NIA court rejects Surendra Gadling’s plea for walks outside prison

12/01/2025

Hindustan Times / by Revu Suresh

NIA court denies activist Surendra Gadling’s plea for outdoor walks in jail, suggesting bed rest for his ailments instead, citing prison rules violations.
The special NIA (National Investigation Agency) court rejected a plea filed by activist-lawyer Surendra Gadling, 57, seeking permission to take morning and evening walks outside his prison cell circle within Taloja jail premises. The lawyer, who was arrested in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon violence case, said he suffered from various ailments. In response, the court on Tuesday said if he really suffered, then he should take bed rest.
Read more

Accused lawyer’s plea for morning, evening walks in jail premises rejected

11/01/2025

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

The court noted that while Gadling, who is lodged at Taloja Central Prison in Navi Mumbai, had cited various ailments to seek relief, the barrack in which he is kept has natural air and light available for all purposes.
… The order, passed by special sessions judge Chakor S Baviskar on January 7, was made available on Saturday.
Read more

Court rejects Gadling’s plea to walk outside ‘circle’ in jail

11/01/2025

The Times of India / by Rebecca Samervel

Surendra Gadling, an advocate and Elgar Parishad case accused, submitted a plea to the special NIA court seeking permission to walk outside the “circle”—the designated space given to undertrials – but within the jail premises for two hours daily. He supported his request by attaching two Google Maps images to the plea.
Read more

Also read/watch:
▪ The Elgar prisoners’ latest hunger strike marks a momentous victory for prison rights (The Polis Project / Nov 2024)
▪ How Long Is Too Long for an Undertrial Prisoner To Be Detained? (The Wire | by Hany Babu & Surendra Gadling | Oct 2024)
▪ Elgar Parishad case accused seeks contempt action against Navi Mumbai cop (India Today / Oct 2024)
▪ Video: The Prison Song of Surendra Gadling (The Wire / lyrics by Ramesh Gaychor)

hindi | 11min | 2021
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.
Watch video / Listen to the song

Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale Get Bail After 6.5 Years in Bhima-Koregaon Elgaar Parishad Case

Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale Get Bail After 6.5 Years in Bhima-Koregaon Elgaar Parishad Case

Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale Get Bail After 6.5 Years of Jail in Elgar Parishad Case

08/01/2025

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

The NIA claimed before the Bombay HC that it would ‘expedite the trial’ in the case in which charges are yet to be framed.
After over six years and six months of incarceration, the Bombay high court today, January 8, granted bail to two human rights defenders, Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale.
Both Wilson and Dhawale were among the first group of human rights activists to be arrested in the highly contentious Elgar Parishad case over what law enforcement claimed was their alleged Maoist links. Their bail in the high court, granted by a bench of Justice A.S. Gadkari and Justice Kamal Khata, came after an appeal was filed by their lawyers following rejections by the trial court.
Read more

Bombay High Court Grants Bail To Rona Wilson & Sudhir Dhawale In Bhima-Koregaon Elgar Parishad Case

08/01/2025

Live Law / by Narsi Benwal

In a major relief for researcher Rona Wilson and activist Sudhir Dhawale, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday (January 8) granted them bail in the Bhima-Koregaon Elgar Parishad case.
A division bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Kamal Khata considered the fact that the duo have spent more than 6 years in jail as undertrials.
Read more

Bail for activists Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale in Bhima Koregaon case

08/01/2025

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

‘They are in jail since 2018, even the charges in the case are yet to be framed,’ the Bombay High Court observed on Wednesday.
Activists Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale were on Wednesday granted bail by the Bombay High Court in the Bhima Koregaon case, Live Law reported.
Read more

Bombay High Court grants bail to Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale

08/01/2025

Bar & Bench / by Sahyaja MS

A Bench of Justice AS Gadkari and Justice Kamal Khata granted bail citing prolonged incarceration, the non-framing of charges and the fact that over 300 witnesses would have to be examined.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale, accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence case.
…
Bail was granted subject to bail bonds of ₹1 lakh and also on the condition that the accused shall report before National Investigation Agency (NIA) every Monday.
Read more

Activists Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale get bail, six accused in Elgaar Parishad case still remain behind bars

08/01/2025

The Indian Express / by Omkar Gokhale

Cites long incarceration, trial unlikely to conclude in near future
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted bail to activists Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale, both of whom were arrested in the Elgaar Parishad case in 2018, on grounds of long incarceration without trial.
With this, of the 16 arrested in the case—initially by the Pune police in 2018 and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2020—nine are out of jail. While Father Stan Swamy passed away in custody in 2021, six still remain in custody, including Mahesh Raut, who was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in September 2023, but remains behind bars as his bail plea is pending before the Supreme Court.
Read more

Sagar Gorkhe and Mahesh Raut granted interim bail to appear for law exams

Sagar Gorkhe and Mahesh Raut granted interim bail to appear for law exams

Mahesh Raut granted interim bail to appear for law exam

08/01/2025

Hindustan Times / by HT Correspondent

NIA court grants temporary bail to activist Mahesh Raut for law exam, requiring him to provide address and phone number, surrender post-exam.
A special NIA court on Tuesday granted temporary bail to Mahesh Raut, an activist lodged in Taloja central jail in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case, to attend his law examination. The court granted him bail from January 13 to January 30, on a personal recognition bond of ₹50,000.
Read more

Elgar Parishad accused granted interim bail to appear for law exams

08/01/2025

India Today / by Vidya

A special NIA court granted interim bail to Mahesh Raut, accused in the Elgar Parishad case, to attend law exams. Raut, in custody since 2018, must surrender after his exams end on January 30.
A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday granted interim bail to Mahesh Raut, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case, allowing him to appear for law degree examinations.
Read more

Accused In Elgar Parishad Case Gets Interim Bail To Appear For Law Exam

07/01/2025

NDTV / by pti

The court directed Gorkhe to furnish an active mobile cell phone number to jail authorities, the NIA and the prosecution as well.
More than four years after his arrest, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mumbai on Friday granted interim bail to Sagar Gorkhe, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case, to appear for his law degree exam. The 22-day temporary bail was granted on a PR (personal recognizance) bond of Rs 50,000 and a surety of similar amount.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Year after being granted bail, Mahesh Raut remains in jail as stay extended (The Indian Express / Sep 2024)
▪ Maharashtra: Raising the bar from behind bars (Midday.com / May 2024)
▪ Bhima Koregaon case: Two prisoners pass law entrance test (Hindustan Times / May 2024)

Bombay HC judge recuses himself from hearing Anand Teltumbde’s discharge plea

Bombay HC judge recuses himself from hearing Anand Teltumbde’s discharge plea

Anand Teltumbde Moves Bombay HC Seeking Discharge From Bhima Koregaon Case, Judge Recuses From Hearing

03/01/2025

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

Justice Kotwal said he had heard and decided bail pleas of a few other accused in the same case in his capacity as a single judge and was thus recusing himself.
Dalit rights activist Anand Teltumbde has moved Bombay High Court seeking closure of the case against him pertaining to the Bhima Koregaon violence of 2018.
Read more

Bench recuses itself from hearing Teltumbde’s plea for discharge in Elgar Parishad case

02/01/2025

India Today / by Vidya

The Bombay High Court bench, headed by Justice Sarang Kotwal, recused itself from hearing Anand Teltumbde’s plea as the judge had previously decided on some bail applications related to the matter.
A bench of the Bombay High Court on Thursday recused itself from hearing an appeal filed by Professor Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the 2018 Elgar Parishad case in Pune. Teltumbde had approached the high court challenging the rejection of his discharge plea.
Read more

Bombay HC judge recuses himself from hearing Anand Teltumbde’s discharge plea

02/01/2025

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

Justice Sarang Kotwal declined to hear the matter, saying that he had earlier heard and decided on bail applications of accused persons in the case.
A Bombay High Court judge on Thursday recused himself from hearing an appeal by activist and writer Anand Teltumbde demanding that he be discharged from the Bhima Koregaon case, Live Law reported.
Read more

Bombay HC Judge Recuses From Hearing Prof Anand Teltumbde’s Appeal Against Order Rejecting Discharge Plea

02/01/2025

Live Law / by Narsi Benwal

Bombay High Court judge Justice Sarang Kotwal on Thursday (January 2) recused from hearing an appeal filed by Professor Anand Teltumbde, one of the accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case.
The judge also asked the Registry to ensure that any of the matters related to the Bhima-Koregaon case, should not be listed before him.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Indian court again refuses to hear Stan Swamy case (UCA News / Sep 2024)
▪ When Push Comes to Shove: Tracking Judicial Recusals and Transfers (The Wire / Apr 2023)

Fadnavis’ obsession with ‘urban naxals’, and a lawless Beed

Fadnavis’ obsession with ‘urban naxals’, and a lawless Beed

Drawing by Arun Fereirra

National Herald / by Navin Kumar

Several observers believe that the BJP government anticipates a number of popular unrests in the state in the coming months and is gearing up to deal with people’s anger
… It was during Fadnavis’s last tenure as chief minister that the Maharashtra police initiated the infamous Bhima-Koregaon conspiracy case. Though the case is crumbling in court, it enabled the police to arrest a large number of human rights activists including Sudha Bharadwaj, Gautam Navlakha and Anand Teltumbde in addition to Father Stan Swamy (who died in prison), Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Vernon Gonsalves and Prof. Shoma Sen. Activists and civil society believe Fadnavis is setting the stage for a sequel.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Is Devendra Fadnavis planning another crackdown like Bhima-Koregaon? (National Herald / Dec 2024)
▪ Maharashtra re-introduces Bill to curb ‘urban Naxals’ (Rediff.com / Dec 2024)
▪ A New Bill Shows Maharashtra Wants to Become a Police State Before Combatting Left-Wing Extremism (The Wire / Jul 2024)
▪ Police Linked to Hacking Campaign to Frame Indian Activists (Wired.com / June 2022)
▪ Maharashtra: Activists, Lawyers Added to ‘Union War Book’, Listed as ‘Enemies of the State’ (The Wire / Jul 2021)
▪ Transfer of Bhima-Koregaon case to NIA appropriate: Devendra Fadnavis (Deccan Herald / Jan 2020)

Journalist pens about the lives of political prisoners in India

Journalist pens about the lives of political prisoners in India

Deccan Herald / by Mrityunjay Bose

During the course of extensive research, Kolhatkar spoke to political prisoners and their family members.
Journalist and political analyst Neeta Kolhatkar has written about the life and struggles of the political prisoners in India. The prisoners include Dr Binayak Sen, paediatrician, public health specialist and social activist, and Prof Anand Teltumbde, eminent scholar, Dalit activist and management teacher.
Read more

The Feared
Conversations with Eleven Political Prisoners
simonandschuster.co.in / by Neeta Kolhatkar
During long discussions, sometimes taking place over multiple meetings, Kolhatkar unearths personal anecdotes from the time her interviewees were incarcerated, bringing into focus the human face of prison inmates, while also detailing the wretched conditions relating to space, hygiene, medical attention, and food that they experienced. Apart from being an urgent call to action for prison reforms, The Feared is thus also an account of hope and strength, narrating unique stories of survival and solidarity, and the unexpected bonds and relationships formed in prison.
Author: Neeta Kolhatkar
Publisher: S&S India (December 20, 2024)
Length: 272 pages
Read more

Also read:
▪ THE BK-16 PRISON DIARIES SERIES (THE POLIS PROJECT / 2024)
▪ Process as Punishment – Recent books that bear witness to the BK-16’s incarceration (The Caravan / Jul 2024)
▪ From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada (Juggernaut │ Sudha Bharadwaj │ Oct 2023)

Is Devendra Fadnavis planning another crackdown like Bhima-Koregaon?

Is Devendra Fadnavis planning another crackdown like Bhima-Koregaon?

Drawing by Arun Fereirra

Is Devendra Fadnavis planning another crackdown like Bhima-Koregaon?

21/12/2024

National Herald / by AJ Prabal

Why would the Maharashtra chief minister require a new law to deal with alleged ‘urban Naxals’?
One of the first acts of Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has been to introduce a special legislation to deal with ‘urban Naxals’ in the state.
… Recalling the Bhima-Koregaon case lodged in 2018 when Fadnavis was once again chief minister, Yadav suspected that Maharashtra Police could be planning a similar crackdown on political rivals and activists.
Read more

Fadnavis won’t be called for deposing before Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry

19/12/2024

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

Prakash Ambedkar had submitted a letter in June 2023 to the commission demanding deposition of Fadnavis, Mallick and Suvez Haque, the then superintendent of police, Pune Rural, as witness in connection with the ongoing inquiry into the Koregaon Bhima violence.
The Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry, which is probing into the causes of violence reported in Koregaon Bhima area in Pune district on January 1, 2018, has decided not to call Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for deposing as a witness.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Maharashtra re-introduces Bill to curb ‘urban Naxals’ (Rediff.com / Dec 2024)
▪ A New Bill Shows Maharashtra Wants to Become a Police State Before Combatting Left-Wing Extremism (The Wire / Jul 2024)
▪ Maharashtra: Activists, Lawyers Added to ‘Union War Book’, Listed as ‘Enemies of the State’ (The Wire / Jul 2021)
▪ Transfer of Bhima-Koregaon case to NIA appropriate: Devendra Fadnavis (Deccan Herald / Jan 2020)