Gautam Navlakha withdraws plea seeking transfer from Mumbai / Allowed to speak with daughter on phone
Gautam Navlakha withdraws application seeking to move location of house arrest from Mumbai to Delhi
18/02/2023
The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala
Withdrawing the application that sought his transfer from Mumbai to Delhi, Navlakha will now seek another place in Mumbai.
On Friday, a division bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justices K.M. Joseph and B.V. Nagarathna, allowed the withdrawal of the application filed by Gautam Navlakha for the transfer of his place of house arrest from Mumbai to Delhi.
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Gautam Navlakha Withdraws Application In Supreme Court Seeking Transfer From Mumbai To Delhi
17/02/2023
Live Law / by Rintu Mariam Biju
Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, on Friday withdrew his application filed in Supreme Court seeking permission to remain in house-arrest in Delhi instead of Mumbai.
When the matter was called up first, an advocate assisting Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought a pass over.
“…You understood what you were getting into when you are in Bombay. You accepted it, now you want a change?”, the Division Bench comprising of KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna asked, turning to the petitioner.
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Navlakha allowed to speak with daughter for 10 minutes on phone
15/02/2023
The Indian Express / by Express News Service
Navlakha had filed a plea seeking to speak with his daughter, a resident of Spain. Navlakha, an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case, has been under home arrest since last November in Navi Mumbai, following orders of the Supreme Court.
A special court in Mumbai on Tuesday granted activist-journalist Gautam Navlakha permission to speak with his daughter for 10 minutes on the phone of a police personnel.
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Also read:
● Explainer: As activist Gautam Navlakha is allowed house arrest, what does this actually involve? (Scroll.in / Nov 2022)
● Stop Denying Political Prisoners the Right to Healthcare in Jails (PUDR / Sep 2022)
● All I ask is an hour to breathe in fresh air, soak in sun, rights activist Gautam Navlakha in plea (Free Press Journal / Dec 2021)
Podcast: Elgar Parishad case defies logic, creates perpetual sense of disbelief
en | 38:57min | 2023
By All Indians Matter
The Elgar Parishad case, in which several activists have been accused of making speeches that led to violence in Bhima Koregaon near Pune in 2018, drags on. Dalit scholar Anand Teltumbde, lawyer-activist Sudha Bhardwaj and poet Varavara Rao have got bail, but only after spending years in prison. But others, such as Vernon Gonsalves, continue to languish behind bars.
Eighty-four-year-old Jharkhand-based tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy, meanwhile, died in custody on July 5, 2021. What does this case tell us about human rights in India and about the effectiveness – or lack of it – of the judiciary?
Susan Abraham – a lawyer who’s been at the forefront of the legal battle, human right activist and wife of Vernon Gonsalves – speaks to All Indians Matter.
Listen to the podcast
Also read:
● Why the letter about a ‘Rajiv Gandhi-type’ assassination plot to kill Modi is fake (dailyo | by Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves | Jan 30, 2018)
● Why peoples’ coalitions are uniting against Hindutva — the ‘new Peshwai’ (dailyo | by Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves | Jan 30, 2018)
SC to hear bail pleas of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira on Feb 13 / ‘We’re Conscious It Is A Matter Of Personal Liberty’
‘We’re Conscious It Is A Matter Of Personal Liberty’: Supreme Court After Adjourning Bail Pleas Of Bhima Koregaon Accused At NIA’s Request
08/02/2023
Live Law / by Anurag Tiwari
The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, at the request of National Investigation Agency (NIA), again adjourned the hearing of the bail applications of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, two of the accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon case, to Monday.
Senior Advocate Rebecca John, appearing for one of petitioners, submitted before the bench comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia, “I hope they (NIA) won’t take further adjournment. Because it is a matter of personal liberty”.
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Thread by Bar & Bench (Feb 8):
++ The Supreme Court to shortly hear bail pleas of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence case.
Matter before Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia. ++
++ Counsel: SG is leading us, he is in another court.
Sr Adv Rebecca John: They had sought adjournment earlier as well.
Justice Bose: We will take it tomorrow.
Justice Dhulia: You can argue, what was the case you were relying on?
John: It is in volume … ++
++ SC: We do not have it.
John takes court through Anand Teltumbde medical bail order.
Bench does not have the copy it says.
SC: Call Mr Raju
Adv: He is not available. Next week?
SC: No ma’am, at most time till Friday.
Bench discusses ++
++ Sr Adv R Basant: 4 and a half years in custody.
Justice Bose to NIA counsel: You prepare yourself. Monday.
John: My lords have the compilation? I hope they do not take further adjournments. Only because it involves personal liberty.
Justice Dhulia: We … ++
++ Justice Dhulia: cannot give injunction (smiles). You can object then.
Justice Bose: We are conscious (that it involves personal liberty).
Also read:
● Supreme Court adjourns bail pleas of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira at the request of NIA (The Leaflet / Feb 6, 2023)
● Will the bail granted to Anand Teltumbde help others in the Bhima Koregaon case to get out of jail? (Scroll.in / Nov 2022)
Accused In Custody For 5 Years: Supreme Court Points Out To NIA While Hearing Bail Applications
‘Accused In Custody For 5 Years’: Supreme Court Points Out To NIA While Hearing Bail Applications
06/02/2023
Live Law / by Live Law News Network
The Supreme Court, on Monday, at the request of National Investigation Agency (NIA), directed the hearing of the bail applications of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, two of the accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon case, to be deferred to a Non-Miscellaneous day (Wednesday).
A Bench comprising Justice Aniruddha Bose and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia was hearing the bail applications of Gonsalves and a co-accused, Ferreira, who were arrested for alleged links with the 2018 caste-based violence that broke out at Bhima Koregaon in Pune, as well as with far-left militants.
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Supreme Court adjourns bail pleas of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira at the request of NIA
06/02/2023
The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala
The matter is posted to be heard on February 8.
On Monday, a division bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia, at the request of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), adjourned the hearing of the bail pleas of trade unionist, activist and academic Vernon Gonsalves, and activist and lawyer Arun Ferreira. Gonsalves and Ferreira have filed bail applications in the Supreme Court challenging the order of the Bombay High Court dated October 15, 2019 rejecting their bail pleas.
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Thread by Bar & Bench (Feb 6):
++ #SupremeCourt is hearing bail applications of activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in the Bhima Koregaon case
Adv Kanu Agarwal: 2 bails in UAPA case. ASG is in another court It will take sometime. We have filed the counter affidavits. ++
++ SC: Somebody is in custody for 5 years. What harm will be caused if he is released on bail with conditions? What is there in counter affidavit ? We have read it
Adv Agarwal: delay in trial cannot be attributed to NIA. There are serious charges of membership etc ++
++ Sr Adv Rebecca John: trial was also underwent for 5 years.. material pertaining to this case is the same in other cases where I was acquitted..
SC: This may make your case a little different
SC: List on Next Wednesday for hearing ++
Also read:
● Vernon Gonsalves cites Arsenal report to seek discharge (Free Press Journal / Jan 5, 2023)
● Will the bail granted to Anand Teltumbde help others in the Bhima Koregaon case to get out of jail? (Scroll.in / Nov 2022)
● Bombay High Court rejects default bail plea of Varavara Rao and seven other accused (The Leaflet / May 2022)
● HC disposes plea of eight accused seeking rectification in order denying them bail (Scroll.in / Dec 2021)
Maharashtra: Top Cop Accuses Decades-Old Cultural, Rights Orgs of Working as ‘Naxal Fronts’
The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha
At the recent police conference attended by PM Modi, Gadchiroli DIGP Sandip B. Patil claimed in a paper that 15 cultural and rights organisations are actually “active frontal organisations of Naxals.” Behind this claim is little evidence.
In 2017, the artiste couple Shital Sathe and Sachin Mali publicly announced their decision to split from the cultural outfit, Kabir Kala Manch (KKM) after 15 years of association.
Read more
Also read:
● UAPA – CRIMINALISING DISSENT AND STATE TERROR – Study of UAPA Abuse in India, 2009-2022 (PUCL / Sep 2022)
● Kabir Kala Manch: A History of Revolutionary Singing and State Repression (ritimo / April 2022)
● The Security Playbook Used To Erode Democracy In Modi’s India & How The Tide Might Turn (article 14 / March 2022)
● Maharashtra: Activists, Lawyers Added to ‘Union War Book’, Listed as ‘Enemies of the State’ (The Wire / Jul 2021)
● From ‘tukde tukde gang’ to ‘urban Naxal’: How media trials enable the government to stifle dissent (Scroll.in / Sep 2018)
Shoma Sen files discharge plea / Targeted for activism, says Shoma Sen seeking clean chit
Shoma Sen files discharge plea in court
01/02/2023
The Indian Express / by Express News Service
Shoma Sen said in her discharge application that the “incriminating” evidence claimed to have been seized from her deals with information on social movements, all of which can be found in public domain.
… Meanwhile, the court on Tuesday heard the discharge application of activist Vernon Gonsalves. During the arguments, Gonsalves said that the accused in the case had not received some of the cloned copies presented by the NIA as evidence. … The co-accused in the case, lawyers Surendra Gadling and Arun Ferreira, informed the court that they had previously too sought cloned copies but have not received all.
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Targeted for activism, says Shoma Sen seeking clean chit
01/02/2023
The Free Press Journal / by Staff Reporter
Professor Shoma Sen, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case, on Tuesday filed a plea for getting a clean chit in the case. She claimed she has been falsely implicated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for her active role in the sphere of activism for human rights, Dalits and the marginalised sections of society.
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Supreme Court Adjourns Hearing On Bail Plea Of Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira
Supreme Court Adjourns Hearing On Bail Plea Of Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira
01/02/2023
The National Bulletin / by TNB Bureau
The hearing in the Supreme Court has been postponed in the case of bail of accused Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in the Bhima Koregaon case. The next hearing of this matter will be on 6 February. The Supreme Court said that further hearing of the case will not be postponed. Earlier on August 18, 2022, the Supreme Court had asked the special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to frame charges against accused Vernon Gonsalves within three months.
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Thread by Live Law / @LiveLawIndia (Feb 1, 2023):
++ Supreme Court to hear bail pleas of Bhima Koregaon Case Accused Varun Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira. ++
++ Report from the last hearing++
++ Matter before bench of Justices MR Shah and Sudhanshu Dhulia ++
++ Bench to shortly start hearing the bail plea. ++
++ Letter circulated in the matter. ++
++ Justice Shah – We will keep it on next Monday. No further adjournments. ++
Bombay High Court rejects bail plea by Surendra Gadling [read judgment]
Reasonable ground to believe Surendra Gadling a member of banned CPI (Maoist): Bombay High Court [Read Judgment]
31/01/2023
Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi
The Court made the prima facie observation while rejecting Gadling’s bail plea in the 2016 Surajgarh arson case.
Allegations that lawyer and activist Surendra Gadling had direct membership of the banned organisation, Communist Party of India (Maoist) seem to be prima facie true, the Bombay High Court observed on Tuesday [Surendra Gadling v. State of Maharashtra].
A division bench of Justices Vinay Joshi and Valmiki SA Menezes made the observation while rejecting a bail plea moved by Gadling in the 2016 Surajgarh arson case.
Read more
Read judgment
Surajgarh arson case: Bombay High Court rejects bail plea by Surendra Gadling
31/01/2023
Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi
Gadling is presently in judicial custody in Taloja Central Prison and is also an accused in the 2018 riots case of Bhima Koregaon.
The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court today rejected the bail plea of lawyer and activist Surendra Gadling in the 2016 Surajgarh arson case.
A division bench of Justices Vinay Joshi and VA Menezes pronounced the order today.
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HC upholds denial of bail to Nagpur lawyer Surendra Gadling
01/02/2023
Nagpur Today / by Nagpur Today
Justice Vinay Joshi and Justice Valmiki SA Menezes at the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court have dismissed the appeal filed by the Nagpur lawyer, Surendra Gadling (55), against rejection of his application for regular bail by the Sessions court, Gadchiroli, with observation that the court prima facie believes the NIA´s accusations that appellant was part of a conspiracy and abetting the terrorist acts.
Read more
Also read:
● Explainer: Arsenal Report on Surendra Gadling (The Leaflet | July 2021)
● DISINHERITING ADIVASIS – THE GADCHIROLI GAME PLAN (KAFILA | June 2018)
● Mining In Gadchiroli – Building A Castle Of Injustices (Countercurrents | by Neema Pathak Broome and Mahesh Raut | June 2017)
India’s UAPA law: Curbing Terrorism or Stifling Democratic Dissent?
The UAPA Law – Curbing Terrorism or Stifling Dissent?
24/01/2023
By Hindus for Human Rights
(DESH-VIDESH CONVERSATION SERIES – SPEAKING ACROSS THE DIVIDE)
Digital Evidence Planting: New Age Threat to Rights Defenders
Presented by Safa Ahmed of the Indian American Muslim Council on behalf of a broad coalition working to secure the release of all the Bhima Koregaon prisoners
WHY ARE MOST OF THE BHIMA KOREGAON DEFENDANTS STILL IN JAIL DESPITE FORENSIC FINDINGS THAT INCRIMINATING EVIDENCE HAD BEEN PLANTED ON SOME OF THEIR COMPUTERS?
Good evening. Digital forensics is a dry, technical field, but the consequences of digital attacks play out like a vivid, terrifying, and painful movie. With the help of technical experts, journalists, and activists, I have prepared for you this narrative of what was revealed in the forensic analysis of the hard drives of three of the BK-16 – Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, and Father Stan Swamy.
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Invite: India’s UAPA law: Curbing Terrorism or Stifling Democratic Dissent?
20/01/2023
The Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and India’s Prisoners of Conscience (POCs): Targeting terrorism or stifling democratic dissent?
Saturday, January 21, 2023
6 pm PST,
7:30 am IST
The conversation will cover the history and the draconian provisions of the UAPA; how it compares to anti-terror laws in other democracies; the views of the State Department and USCIRF; what are some of the typical charges being made being under UAPA. Do they look unlawful to you? Some statistics: How many people arrested since the amended UAPA; Average time spent w/o trial or bail hearing; How many have gone to trial, etc.
Moderator: Govind Acharya, Amnesty International
Panelists:
Banojyotsna Lahiri, Activist, on Umar Khalid’s story and struggle
Yug Mohit Chaudhry, Author and Criminal Lawyer, on legal strategies on behalf of POCs and hurdles faced
Mihir Desai, Human Rights Lawyer, on the story and struggle of Bhima Koregaon 16 and what’s happening to lesser known detainees
Followed by a Q&A moderated by Govind Acharya
Register here