Persecution – Page 16 – free them all

Bombay High Court asks probe agency NIA for ‘correct facts’ in Elgar Parishad case

19/12/2023 Asha

India Today / by Vidya

The Bombay High Court has told the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to give a proper response to a request from some of the Elgar Parishad accused who are seeking default bail. The court mentioned that there are incorrect facts in the documents submitted.
While observing that “incorrect facts are stated in the pleadings”, the Bombay High Court has directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to file a proper reply to the petition filed by some of the accused in the Elgar Parishad case while praying for default bail.
… The court then adjourned the hearing of the petitions to January 16.
Read more

● Bombay High Court rejects default bail plea of Varavara Rao and seven other accused (The Leaflet / May 2022)
● Bombay HC grants default bail to Sudha Bharadwaj, but declines the same to eight other accused (The Leaflet / Dec 2021)

Sudha Bharadwaj: What I knew in the abstract I was now living, feeling and observing

17/12/2023 Asha

The Leaflet / by Freny Manecksha

In this interview, trade unionist and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, who was jailed in the Bhima-Koregaon matter and has just produced a book on From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada, tells Freny Manecksha how prison changes one for the worse, but also for the better.

“But the irony is on the day they (Adivasis of Sarkeguda, Chhattisgarh) are vindicated, seven years after they began their fight, I, their first lawyer, am in jail 1,000 kilometers away! Yet it is a happy day.”
Read more

Also read:
● Prison Occupancy Rose In 2022, Despite Campaign To Release Undertrials. Three in four prisoners continue to be undertrials, a majority of whom belong to oppressed caste groups (Indiaspend.com | Shreehari Paliath | Dec 2023)

● 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
Paperback: 316 pages
Access a free PDF copy of the book here:
Sudha_Bharadwaj_speaks (2,1 MB)

Contrary To SC’s Rules Of Assignment, At Least 8 Politically Sensitive Cases Moved To One Judge In 4 Months

07/12/2023 Asha

article 14 / by Saurav Das

An analysis of eight politically sensitive cases shows they were moved to Justice Bela M Trivedi of the Supreme Court over the past four months, even though the rules of assignment say they should remain with the senior judge or before a judge hearing a similar case. Close to six years after four Supreme Court justices raised the issue of cases being assigned before a specific judge, senior lawyers have now questioned the manner of moving cases by the ‘master of the roster’, the Chief Justice of India.
…
The Case Of Mahesh Raut
A similar pattern is visible in the incarcerated Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad violence case accused Raut’s bail plea.
Raut, who is a researcher and forest rights activist, was arrested in June 2018 by the Pune police for his alleged connection with the violence that broke out on 1 January 2018, in Bhima Koregaon village near Pune.
Read more

Also read:
▪ ‘Ominous portents’: Why High Court staying its own bail orders in Bhima Koregaon case is troubling (Scroll.in / Dec 2023)
▪ Bhima Koregaon: Bombay High Court grants regular bail to Mahesh Raut (The Leaflet / Sep 2023)

As Watali casts a long shadow, Jagtap’s bail plea adjourned, to be heard after Shoma Sen’s

07/12/2023 Asha

The Leaflet / by Shrikha Gowri

A division bench of the Supreme Court said it will next hear Jyoti Jagtap’s bail petition in the third week of January, after Shoma Sen’s regular bail plea has been heard.
Today, the Supreme Court said it will hear anti-caste activist and musical performer Jyoti Jagtap’s bail plea after Shoma Sen’s bail petition.
Read more

Also read:
● SC says principles of Arun and Vernon bail judgment to apply to Jyoti Jagtap (The Leaflet / Nov 1, 2023)
● Supreme Court asks whether Gonsalves and Ferreira judgment “formula” can be applied to Jyoti Jagtap (The Leaflet / Aug 2023)
● Kabir Kala Manch: A History of Revolutionary Singing and State Repression (ritimo / April 2022)

Supreme Court Adjourns Shoma Sen’s Bail Hearing Until January 10 / SC quotes Watali judgment

06/12/2023 Asha

Shoma Sen’s Bail Hearing in SC Adjourned Yet Again, Until January 10

07/12/2023

Newsclick / by Newsclick Report

Sen is an accused in the Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad Maoist links and criminal conspiracy case along with 14 other activists and academics, and is charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) (UAPA) Act.
The Supreme Court adjourned English professor Shoma Sen’s bail hearing in the Bhima Koregaon case until January 10, indicating that it would have to examine if any fresh allegations were levelled against her in the supplementary chargesheets.
Read more

Supreme Court Adjourns UAPA Accused Shoma Sen’s Bail Hearing Until January 10

07/12/2023

Live Law / by Awstika Das

‘Were Fresh Allegations Made In Supplementary Chargesheets And Did The High Court Consider Them?’ Supreme Court Asks During Shoma Sen’s Bail Hearing
The Supreme Court on Wednesday (December 6), while hearing English professor and Bhima Koregaon-accused Shoma Sen’s plea against a Bombay High Court order asking her to approach a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) for bail, indicated that it would have to examine whether the supplementary chargesheets filed in the case levelled any fresh allegations against her and these were brought on record before the high court.
Read more

Supreme Court quotes Watali judgment in Shoma Sen’s bail application

06/12/2023

The Leaflet / by Gurismran Kaur Bakshi

Shoma Sen has been incarcerated for five-and-a-half years and her bail plea has been pending before the Supreme Court for nearly six months.
“[DO] I have to run from court to court just for bail? That cannot be by virtue of Article 21. It has been five-and-a-half years,” decried senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for women’s rights activist and academic Shoma Sen in a bail plea.
Today, the Supreme Court division Bench comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Augustine George Masih partly heard a regular bail application of Sen.
Read more

Live Thread by Live Law / @LiveLawIndia (Dec 6)
#SupremeCourt to hear interim medical bail plea of English professor and Bhima Koregaon-accused Shoma Sen on grounds of her deteriorating health.
…
Bench adjourns hearing until tomorrow.
Bose J: Tomorrow, first item.

Live Thread by Bar & Bench / @lawbarandbench (Dec 6)
Supreme Court hearing bail plea of Prof Shoma Sen, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence case.
ASG KM Nataraj: HC did not have chance to examine on merits, did not look at all the evidence.
Sr Adv Anand Grover for Sen: Her plea is pending in SC for 6 months. We have shown everything to SC and HC.
Justice Aniruddha Bose: Technical point Mr Nataraj is correct.
…
Justice Bose: We will continue tomorrow. Keep it part-heard.

Also read:
● Fearing grant of medical bail to Shoma Sen, NIA pleads fast-tracking of hearing of regular bail (The Leaflet / Nov 30, 2023)
● Gonsalves and Ferreira bail judgment: A step in the right direction but where will we go from here? (The Leaflet / Aug 2023)
● “Hopefully waiting” writes Shoma Sen from prison (InSAF India / Jul 2023)

● Shoma Sen moves Supreme Court seeking bail (The Leaflet / April 2023)

“For the freedom to breathe” – Sudha Bharadwaj’s book: From Phansi Yard (pics)

05/12/2023 Asha

by PUCL India / @PUCLindia (Dez 5, 2023)
PUCL Maharashtra and Free Speech Collective invite you to a book reading and conversations at 6 pm on Dec 9, 2023 in Bandra, Mumbai, “For the freedom to breathe” On the occasion of 75 years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 25 years of the UN Declaration on HRDs

by PUCL India / @PUCLindia (Dec 11):
‘For the Freedom to Breathe’ by PUCL Maharashtra & Free Speech Collective. Reading by Ratna Pathak Shah of excerpts from ‘Phansi Ward’, discussion between Freny Manecksha and author Sudha Bharadwaj, talk by Sukanya Shantha on ‘Criminal Justice and Prisons-the Media’s Blind Spots’

by naresh fernandes / @tajmahalfoxtrot (Dec 9)
Ahead of Human Rights Day, a reading and discussion about Sudha Bharadwaj’s searing, funny book about her time in jail in the farcical Bhima Koregaon case.

by Dilip D’Souza / @DeathEndsFun (Dec 9)
Commemorating 75 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Sudha Bharadwaj speaks about her book, “From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada”.

Sudha Bharadwaj’s book and the drama on a revolutionary on death row

10/12/2023

Countercurrents / by Vidyadhar Date

The reading by Ratna Pathak Shah last evening from Sudha Bharadwaj’s book about days in the death row in jail, reminded me of a thrilling Marathi play “Thank You Mr Glaad” about a Naxalite revolutionary. The movement has taken little note of the play written by Anil Barve. It was also a big popular hit and was produced by Prabhakar Panshikar, a very popular actor and producer, in the 1970s.
Read more

Sudha Bharadwaj: ‘So Writing Was My Way Of Reaching Out To The Women I Saw’

02/12/2023 Asha

Free Press Journal / by Anushka Jagtiani

The lawyer and activist talks about her time in prison and From Phansi Yard, her currently released book
Sudha Bharadwaj chose to surrender her US passport and dedicate her life to fighting the battles of exploited labourers in Chhatisgarh. Her activism led to her arrest in 2018 in the Bhima-Koregaon violence case along with 15 others, and she spent three years in jail — in Pune and Mumbai. She is currently out on bail and therefore cannot comment on the case as an under trial.
She speaks about her time in jail, the unlikely friendships she made, and how she became ‘vakeel aunty’ to many poor inmates and even helped get some out on bail.
Read more

From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada

Author: Sudha Bhardwaj
Publisher: Juggernaut
Pages: 216
Order

● Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

Fearing grant of medical bail to Shoma Sen, NIA pleads fast-tracking of hearing of regular bail

30/11/2023 Asha

Fearing grant of medical bail to Shoma Sen, NIA pleads fast-tracking of hearing of regular bail

30/11/2023

The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala

In a departure from what has become an unfortunate practice of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in bail matters, of seeking long adjournments from courts for various reasons, as soon as the Bench expressed an inclination to grant Shoma Sen medical bail, NIA counsel Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj said he is ready to argue the matter of the regular bail as soon as next Tuesday.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court allowed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to argue against the regular bail plea filed by women’s rights activist and academic Shoma Sen on Wednesday, December 6.
Read more

Supreme Court adjourned Shoma Sen’s bail plea yet again

28/11/2023

The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala

In what has become an unfortunate repetition, a division Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Augustine George Masih today adjourned the hearing of the bail plea by Shoma Sen once more.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court adjourned the hearing of the bail plea filed by women rights activist and academic Shoma Sen once again.
A division Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Augustine George Masih allowed the adjournment sought by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Read more

Also read:
● Since Evidence Tampering Not Ruled Out, Shoma Sen and Rona Wilson Want Chargesheets Quashed (The Wire / Oct 2023)
● “Hopefully waiting” writes Shoma Sen from prison (InSAF India / Jul 2023)

● Shoma Sen moves Supreme Court seeking bail (The Leaflet / April 2023)

Supreme Court allows state time to file counter-affidavit in Surendra Gadling bail plea

29/11/2023 Asha

The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala

Senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for Gadling, stated that evidence recovered from Gadling in the Bhima Koregaon case is being repurposed for use in the Gadchiroli arson case.
Wednesday, the Supreme Court allowed the Maharashtra government time to file a counter-affidavit in the bail plea by human rights lawyer and Dalit rights activist Surendra Gadling.
… The Bench directed the state government to file a counter-affidavit within one week and posted the matter for hearing in two weeks.
Read more

NIA court allows Varavara Rao to travel to Hyderabad to undergo cataract surgery in his left eye

29/11/2023 Asha

The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala

On October 23, the Bombay High Court had allowed Rao to travel to Hyderabad for surgery in his right eye. The high court had directed Rao to approach the National Investigation Agency court for surgery for the other eye, after returning to Mumbai following the first surgery.
Today, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) court of special judge Rajesh Kataria allowed activist, writer and teacher and poet Dr P. Varavara Rao to travel to Hyderabad to undergo cataract surgery on his left eye.
Read more

● Bombay HC allows Varavara Rao to undergo cataract surgery in Hyderabad (The Indian Express / Oct 2023)
● Supreme Court grants permanent medical bail to P. Varavara Rao in Bhima Koregaon case (The Leaflet / Aug 2022)
● Varavara Rao granted six-month bail on medical grounds (The Leaflet / Feb 2021)

● Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

Shoma Sen’s Bail Hearing in SC Adjourned Yet Again, Until January 10

Supreme Court Adjourns UAPA Accused Shoma Sen’s Bail Hearing Until January 10

Supreme Court quotes Watali judgment in Shoma Sen’s bail application

Live Thread by Live Law / @LiveLawIndia (Dec 6) #SupremeCourt to hear interim medical bail plea of English professor and Bhima Koregaon-accused Shoma Sen on grounds of her deteriorating health. … Bench adjourns hearing until tomorrow. Bose J: Tomorrow, first item.

Sudha Bharadwaj’s book and the drama on a revolutionary on death row

From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada

● Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

Fearing grant of medical bail to Shoma Sen, NIA pleads fast-tracking of hearing of regular bail

Supreme Court adjourned Shoma Sen’s bail plea yet again

Live Thread by Live Law / @LiveLawIndia (Dec 6)
#SupremeCourt to hear interim medical bail plea of English professor and Bhima Koregaon-accused Shoma Sen on grounds of her deteriorating health.
…
Bench adjourns hearing until tomorrow.
Bose J: Tomorrow, first item.