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Category: Persecution

NIA files plea to impound passports of Anand Teltumbde, Rona Wilson, Mahesh Raut, Gautam Navlakha, Hany Babu

NIA files plea to impound passports of Anand Teltumbde, Rona Wilson, Mahesh Raut, Gautam Navlakha, Hany Babu

Anti-terror agency seeks to seize Anand Teltumbde’s passport

30/09/2025

India Today / by Vidya

A total of 16 people were arrested in the Elgar Parishad case, which pertained to an event organised at Shaniwar Wada in Pune on the eve of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima on December 31, 2017.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed an application before a special court in Mumbai, seeking directions to impound the passports of Anand Teltumbde, Rona Wilson, Mahesh Raut, Gautam Navlakha, and Hany Babu — the five accused in the 2018 Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
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NIA files plea to impound passports of 5 accused in Elgaar case

30/09/2025

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Special public prosecutor Prakash Shetty on Monday moved the plea citing provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a plea before the special court seeking directions to impound passports of five accused arrested in the Elgaar Parishad case. The court has directed the accused to file their replies.
… The court will likely hear the plea on October 9. The trial in the case is yet to begin.
Read more

Also read:
▪ NIA opposes Anand Teltumbde’s plea to travel abroad, cites risk of absconding (The Hindu / April 2025)
▪ Bhima-Koregaon case transferred to NIA to compromise independent probe: Front Line Defenders (Jan 2020)

Transfer of case to NIA | High Court questions Gadling’s plea, says accused can’t choose probe agency

Transfer of case to NIA | High Court questions Gadling’s plea, says accused can’t choose probe agency

Poster by #bakeryprasad

Hindustan Times / by Karuna Nidhi

On June 6, 2018, Gadling and Dhawale were arrested under stringent sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), for their alleged links with the Maoists and the conspiracy to incite violence in Bhima Koregaon
The Bombay High Court on Thursday questioned the maintainability of a petition filed by Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case accused Surendra Gadling and Sudhir Dhawale, contending the transfer of the case from the Pune police to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in January 2020 was politically motivated.
… The bench adjourned the matter for further hearing on October 9 after Talekar sought time to respond to the court’s query.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Why caste Hindutva, not an Elgar conspiracy, is at the root of the Bhima Koregaon violence (The Polis Project / Feb 2025)
▪ Surendra Gadling and Sudhir Dhawale Challenge Transfer of Elgar Parishad Probe to NIA (Gauri Lankesh News / Jul 2021)
▪ ‘Centre’s Decision to Hand Bhima Koregaon to NIA Unconstitutional’: Maha Home Minister (The Wire / Jan 2020)
▪ Deputy CM raises doubts in case against 10 activists, seeks proof in 15 days (Scroll.in / Jan 2020)
▪ Bhima-Koregaon case transferred to NIA to compromise independent probe: Front Line Defenders (Jan 2020)

‘I’m going to live to 185’: Anand Teltumbde remembers his friend Stan Swamy in his memoir

‘I’m going to live to 185’: Anand Teltumbde remembers his friend Stan Swamy in his memoir

Poster by #bakeryprasad

Scroll.in / by Anand Teltumbde

An excerpt from Teltumbde’s prison memoir ‘The Cell and the Soul: A Prison Memoir’.
I did not realise that when I said, “Don’t come back here,” to Stan while seeing him off at the gate of the jail hospital, it would prove ominous.
It was May 28, 2021, and Arun Ferreira and I drove him in a wheelchair to the gate of the jail hospital, extremely happy over the Bombay High Court order to shift him to the Holy Family Hospital, albeit for only 15 days.
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The Cell and the Soul – A Prison Memoir


Author: Anand Teltumbde
Publishing Date: Sep 2025
Publisher: Bloomsbury India
Pages: 256

Noted social activist Anand Teltumbde entered the Taloja Central Prison as accused number 10 in the Bhima Koregaon case and spent 31 months as an undertrial until he was released on bail. As an intellectual who was stripped of his freedom, he lays bares the chilling realities of India’s prisons in his gut-wrenching prison memoir. Part memoir, part diary, Cell and the Soul is a descent into the heart of India’s carceral state, ripping open the belly of the beast-the prison industrial complex-and exposing the brutal, pulsating injustice within.

Read more / order

Also read:
▪ I saw firsthand how callous prison officials and their negligence led to Stan Swamy’s death (Scroll.in | by Arun Ferreira | Jul 2025)
▪ Daring, Fearless and Kind, Father Stan Swamy Remains a Beacon of Resistance (The Wire | by Hany Babu, Jyoti Jagtap, Mahesh Raut, Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor, Sagar Gorkhe, Surendra Gadling | Jul 2025)
▪ Caged birds and prison songs: In chorus, Stan Swamy and the Bhima Koregaon accused kept hope alive (Scroll.in | by Vernon Gonsalves | Jul 2023)
▪ How the system broke Stan Swamy: A cell mate recalls the activist’s last days in prison (Scroll.in | by Arun Ferreira | Aug 2021)

Supreme Court seeks explanation on delay in trial against Surendra Gadling

Supreme Court seeks explanation on delay in trial against Surendra Gadling

Supreme Court questions delay in trial of Surendra Gadling in 2016 Surjagarh mine arson case

25/09/2025

The Leaflet / by Parmod Kumar

“Why is the trial not going on, and for how many years can a person be kept in custody without trial?” the bench asked.
The Supreme Court yesterday expressed concern over the prolonged pendency of trial proceedings against advocate Surendra Gadling in the 2016 Surjagarh iron ore mine arson case and asked the Maharashtra government whether a person could be kept in custody as an undertrial for several years.
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Explain delay in trial: Supreme Court to Maharashtra in Surendra Gadling bail case

24/09/2025

Bar & Bench / by Ritwik Choudhury

This was the 19th adjournment of Gadling’s bail plea, which has been pending since August 2023.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday pressed the State of Maharashtra to explain why the trial in the 2016 Surajgarh arson case has not begun despite human rights lawyer Surendra Gadling spending over six years in custody [Surendra Pundalik Gadling v. State of Maharashtra].
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“How Long Can You Keep A Person In Custody Without Trial?”: SC Questions Delay In Trial Against Surendra Gadling

24/09/2025

Live Law / by Amisha Shrivastava

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (September 24) raised concerns over the prolonged pendency of trial proceedings against lawyer and activist Surendra Gadling in the 2016 Gadchiroli arson case.
A bench comprising Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Vijay Bishnoi asked whether a person can be kept in custody as an undertrial for many years.
…
The matter will be next heard on October 28/29.
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Supreme Court Seeks Explanation on Delayed Trial in 2016 Arson Case

24/09/2025

Devdiscourse / by Devdiscourse News Desk

The Supreme Court has questioned the delay in the trial of a 2016 arson case involving advocate Surendra Gadling and demanded an explanation from the Maharashtra government. Gadling has been incarcerated for over 6.7 years, accused of aiding Maoists in the Surjagarh iron ore mine incident.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court raised concerns over the prolonged trial of a 2016 arson case involving Surendra Gadling, an advocate accused of aiding Maoists in Maharashtra.
Read more

Also read:
▪ 6 yrs, no charges framed – Surendra Gadling stuck in trial limbo in 2016 Surajgarh arson case (The Print / Sep 2025)
▪ In Surendra Gadling’s case, adjournment becomes the verdict (Frontline / Aug 2025)
▪ How Long is Too Long? – On the Maximum Period that an Undertrial Prisoner can be Detained (Constitutional Law and Philosophy | by Hany Babu and Surendra Gadling | Oct 2024)
▪ Surendra Gadling’s Computer Was Attacked, Incriminating Documents Planted: Arsenal Consulting (The Wire / July 2021)
▪ DISINHERITING ADIVASIS – THE GADCHIROLI GAME PLAN (KAFILA / June 2018)

NIA opposes plea to clear Stan Swamy’s name, says it would set wrong precedent

NIA opposes plea to clear Stan Swamy’s name, says it would set wrong precedent

PUDR campaign

Fr Stan Swamy can’t be declared innocent just because he’s dead: NIA

24/09/2025

Hindustan Times / by Karuna Nidhi

The petition was filed by Stan Swamy’s friend and fellow Jesuit priest Fr. Frazer Mascarenhas who retired in 2015 as Mumbai’s St. Xavier’s College principal
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday opposed a petition filed in the Bombay High Court seeking to remove the “odium” of criminal charges against Jesuit priest Father Stan Swamy who died in custody in July 2021 while awaiting trial in the Elgar Parishad case.
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NIA opposes plea to clear Stan Swamy’s name, says it would set wrong precedent

23/09/2025

India Today / by Vidya

The petition sought a judicial inquiry into Stan Swamy’s death and requested that the “odium of guilty” attached to him be removed.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has opposed a petition filed in the Bombay High Court seeking to clear the name of late tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy from the Elgar Parishad case, saying such a move would set a “wrong precedent.”
….
The court will take up the matter again after two weeks.
Read more

Also read:
▪ I saw firsthand how callous prison officials and their negligence led to Stan Swamy’s death (Scroll.in | by Arun Ferreira | Jul 2025)
▪ Daring, Fearless and Kind, Father Stan Swamy Remains a Beacon of Resistance (The Wire | by Hany Babu, Jyoti Jagtap, Mahesh Raut, Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor, Sagar Gorkhe, Surendra Gadling | Jul 2025)
▪ Jesuit Missions repeats call to clear Indian priest’s name (Indcatholic News / Jul 2024)

SC Refuses To Entertain Varavara Rao’s Plea To Modify Bail Condition To Not Leave Mumbai

SC Refuses To Entertain Varavara Rao’s Plea To Modify Bail Condition To Not Leave Mumbai

Varavara Rao

Supreme Court Refuses To Entertain Varavara Rao’s Plea To Modify Bail Condition Requiring Him To Be In Mumbai

19/09/2025

Live Law / by Debby Jain

The Supreme Court today refused to entertain a plea to modify the medical bail condition imposed on 85-yr old P Varavara Rao, accused under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in the Bhima Koregaon case, which requires him to seek prior permission from the Trial Court if he wishes to leave the Greater Mumbai area. A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi dismissed as withdrawn Rao’s plea after hearing Senior Advocate Anand Grover.
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SC refuses to hear plea of P Varavara Rao on bail modification

19/09/2025

Hindustan Times / by Abraham Thomas

Rao, 85, had sought modification of the bail order of August 10, 2022 granted by the top court on medical grounds and considering his advanced age
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a petition filed by Bhima Koregaon violence accused P Varavara Rao seeking modification of his bail order which prohibits him from leaving the jurisdiction of the trial court in Mumbai. The court, however, permitted him to withdraw the plea.
Read more

Also read:
▪ For accused out on bail, Court’s condition to not leave city a further challenge (The Indian Express / Jan 2025)
▪ Bombay HC allows Varavara Rao to undergo cataract surgery in Hyderabad (The Indian Express / Oct 2023)
▪ Can’t Allow Varavara Rao To Stay In Hyderabad For Three Months For Cataract Treatment, Will Delay Framing of Charges: NIA Court (Scroll.in / Sep 2022)
▪ Supreme Court grants permanent medical bail to P. Varavara Rao in Bhima Koregaon case (The Leaflet / Aug 2022)

Celebration to Incarceration: The Bhima-Koregaon Case So Far

Celebration to Incarceration: The Bhima-Koregaon Case So Far

Poster by #bakeryprasad

Outlook / by Pritha Vashisth

What began in 2018 as a commemoration of anti-caste resistance turned into an eight-year-long legal ordeal, with 16 lawyers, poets, professors and activists jailed under anti-terror laws—many without trial, and some still behind bars today
Summary
◦ The Bhima-Koregaon event in 2018, a Dalit-led commemoration, was followed by violence—leading to the arrest of 16 activists, academics, and lawyers.
◦ All accused were charged under the harsh UAPA law, allowing long detentions without evidence or trial—Fr Stan Swamy died in custody.
◦ Eight of the 16 have been granted bail, but some remain jailed as courts have not yet ruled on their discharge petitions.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Why caste Hindutva, not an Elgar conspiracy, is at the root of the Bhima Koregaon violence (The Polis Project / Feb 2025)

▪ Bhima Koregaon: Challenging Caste. Brahminism’s wrath against dreamers of equality

Author: Ajaz Ashraf  
Publisher: AuthorsUpFront
Publishing Date: June 2024
Binding: Paperback
Language: English
Pages: 496
Read more/order
▪ Book Excerpt | How Bhima Koregaon Became a Trope for Dalit Pride and Assertion (The Wire │ by Ajaz Ashraf │ June 2024)

▪ The Incarcerations: Bhima Koregaon And The Search For Democracy In India

Author: Alpa Shah
Publishing Date: March 2024
Publisher: Harper Collins Publisher
Pages: 672
Read more / order
▪ Book Excerpt: The story of an ‘Urban Naxal’ (Deccan Herald | by Alpa Shah | April 2024 )

Supreme Court To Hear Surendra Gadling’s Bail Plea In Gadchiroli Arson Case On September 24

Supreme Court To Hear Surendra Gadling’s Bail Plea In Gadchiroli Arson Case On September 24

Campaign poster 2024

Live Law / by Amisha Shrivastava

Senior Advocate Anand Grover on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the case against Dalit rights activist and advocate Surendra Gadling in the 2016 Gadchiroli Surajgad arson incident was “completely false” and based only on electronic evidence illegally seized in the Bhima Koregaon case.
…
The Court adjourned the matter to next Wednesday (September 24) after briefly hearing Grover and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju.
Read more

thread by Live Law /  @LiveLawIndia (Sep 17):

#SupremeCourt hears bail plea of lawyer Surendra Gadling, accused under UAPA in the 2016 Gadchiroli arson case.
Bench: Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Vijay Bishnoi.
Senior Advocate Anand Grover: he was not named in the FIR. He was arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case. In that case, under procedure unknown to law say that they have found electronic evidence implicating him in this case.
J Maheshwari: What is the material against him?
Grover: Nothing except the evidence found in the other case. The procedure in that case to collect evidence totally contrary to law. And then they say that there is evidence in those electronic devices that you are a member of the maoist party.
Grover: evidence that they have collected, he was espousing that cause to fight it legally. There was no search warrant.
J Maheshwari to ASG SV Raju: he is saying that search Warren application was submitted but it was not permitted by the court still you made a search.
Raju: there is no requirement for obtaining search warrant in the course of investigation. It is right of the investigating officer to search any place for the purpose of finding evidence, those are inherent powers of the IO.
Raju: I will point out from the CrPC. Even assuming that the search was illegal the court has taken a view that material recovered can be admissible as evidence. Even if search is illegal material collected is not washed of. It can be relied upon and conviction can be based on it
J Maheshwari: If we continue for 15 minutes you will finish it?
Raju: It will take time.
Court: List on next Wednesday.

Also read:
▪ 6 yrs, no charges framed – Surendra Gadling stuck in trial limbo in 2016 Surajgarh arson case (The Print / Sep 2025)
▪ SC to hear bail plea of Bhima Koregaon accused Surendra Gadling on Sep 17 (Hindustan Times / Sep 2025)
▪ In Surendra Gadling’s case, adjournment becomes the verdict (Frontline / Aug 2025)
▪ How Long is Too Long? – On the Maximum Period that an Undertrial Prisoner can be Detained (Constitutional Law and Philosophy | by Hany Babu and Surendra Gadling | Oct 2024)
▪ Surendra Gadling’s Computer Was Attacked, Incriminating Documents Planted: Arsenal Consulting (The Wire / July 2021)

Supreme Court to Hear Jyoti Jagtap’s Bail Plea in October

Supreme Court to Hear Jyoti Jagtap’s Bail Plea in October

SC Grants Interim Bail To Mahesh Raut On Medical Grounds For Six Weeks, Jyoti Jagtap’s Bail Plea To Be Heard In October

16/09/2025

The Commune / by The Commune

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (16 September 2025) granted interim bail on medical grounds for a period of six weeks to Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad case accused Mahesh Raut, who has been under custody since June 2018 after being arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, over alleged Maoist links.
…
The plea of co-accused Jyoti Jagtap was also mentioned during the hearing by Senior Advocate Aparna Bhat, who submitted that the case has been pending for the last six to seven years. The bench said it will take up Jagtap’s case in October.
Read more

Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Bail Plea of Bhima Koregaon Accused Jyoti Jagtap in October

16/09/2025

Law Beat / by Sukriti Mishra

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will hear in October the bail plea of Jyoti Jagtap, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, who has been incarcerated for almost seven years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The Bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma was hearing Jagtap’s petition when Senior Advocate Aparna Bhat, appearing on her behalf, urged the Court to consider the long period of incarceration without trial.
Read more

Also read:
▪ SC to hear bail plea of activist Jyoti Jagtap on Sep 8 (Hindustan Times / Sep 2025)
▪ Supreme Court adjourns bail pleas of Surendra Gadling and Jyoti Jagtap (Hindustan Times / Mar 2025)
▪ SC adjourns bail pleas of Surendra Gadling, Jyoti Jagtap in Bhima Koregaon case (Scroll.in / Feb 2025)
▪ How Kabir Kala Manch, the anti-caste cultural troupe, challenges the hierarchical social order (Scroll.in / Jul 2024)
▪ Inconsistencies in Bail Orders Mean Individual Liberty Is the Outcome of Judicial Lottery (The Wire / Oct 2022)

Supreme Court grants six-week interim medical bail to Mahesh Raut

Supreme Court grants six-week interim medical bail to Mahesh Raut

Mahesh Raut

Supreme Court grants six-week interim medical bail to Bhima Koregaon accused Mahesh Raut

17/09/2025

Sabrangindia / by Sabrangindia

Raut, in jail since 2018 under UAPA, secures interim relief for rheumatoid arthritis treatment; despite being granted regular bail by Bombay High Court in 2023, he remains in custody as the order has been under Supreme Court stay for two years
The Supreme Court on Monday, September 16, 2025, granted six weeks’ interim medical bail to Mahesh Raut, one of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad case, who has been in custody since his arrest in June 2018 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA).

Court proceedings
A Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma passed the order after Raut moved the Court citing serious health concerns.
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SC Grants Interim Bail To Mahesh Raut On Medical Grounds For Six Weeks, Jyoti Jagtap’s Bail Plea To Be Heard In October

16/09/2025

The Commune / by The Commune

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (16 September 2025) granted interim bail on medical grounds for a period of six weeks to Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad case accused Mahesh Raut, who has been under custody since June 2018 after being arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, over alleged Maoist links.
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Supreme Court Grants Interim Bail To Mahesh Raut On Medical Grounds For 6 Weeks

16/09/2025

Live Law / by Gursimran Kaur Bakshi

The Supreme Court today (September 16) granted interim bail on medical grounds for a period of 6 weeks to Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case accused Mahesh Raut, arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, over alleged Maoist links. He has been in custody since his arrest in June 2018.
Read more
Read order

Also read:
▪ Supreme Court To Hear Activist Mahesh Raut’s Bail Plea (Outlook / Sep 2025)
▪ Notes From Inside Taloja Prison (Outlook | by Mahesh Raut | Jun 2025)
▪ Year after being granted bail, Mahesh Raut remains in jail as stay extended (The Indian Express / Sep 2024)
▪ ‘Ominous portents’: Why High Court staying its own bail orders in Bhima Koregaon case is troubling (Scroll.in / Dec 2023)
▪ Bhima Koregaon Case: Mahesh Raut, youngest accused, granted bail by the Bombay HC! (SabrangIndia / Sep 2023)