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Category: Persecution

When Jail, not Bail, rules in a Pandemic

When Jail, not Bail, rules in a Pandemic

The Lefaflet / by Nilima Dutta & Susan Abraham

The pandemic is worse showcased in the treatment meted to undertrials in our prisons. Despite guidelines directing granting of bail to undertrials with medical conditions and seniority in age, the courts have refused to grant bail to the accused in Bhima Koregaon activists. The authors here note the glaring blindness in the orders of the court denying bail, the dangers to Mr Varavara Rao and Ms Shoma Sen’s health in prison, and the blatant disregard for established principles of law.
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Prisoners ‘dumped’ at quarantine facility: Nearly 300 Taloja jail inmates

Prisoners ‘dumped’ at quarantine facility: Nearly 300 Taloja jail inmates


Drawing by Arun Ferreira

Mumbai Mirror / by harmeen Hakim & Shruti Ganapatye

Prisoners and rights activists say decongestion exercise an eyewash.
“We’re living like animals here.” Khyamuddin Sayyed minced no word in the letter he sent his lawyer, Amrish Salunkhe, on June 14 from his temporary prison in a Kharghar school.
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No Headway in Decongestion of Maharashtra Prisons, Despite SC Directive

No Headway in Decongestion of Maharashtra Prisons, Despite SC Directive


Drawing by Arun Ferreira

Newsclick / by MN Parth

Mumbai: On March 23, the Supreme Court of India asked the state governments to decongest prisons in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus inside jail premises. The Maharashtra government, led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, subsequently constituted a high-power committee (HPC) to decide on the prisoners to be released. However, the decongestion process in Maharashtra seems to be going nowhere.
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1,414 INMATES ABOVE THE AGE OF 60, STATE TELLS HC

The Hindu / by Sonam Saigal

The State government has informed the Bombay High Court that as of Friday, 1,414 inmates lodged in prisons across the State are above the age of 60, while 425 of them have co-morbidities.
Advocate General (AG) Ashutosh Kumbhakoni told a Division Bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice M.S. Karnik that as on May 11, there were 1,340 inmates above 60 years, and as of June 26, the number was 1,414. The court expressed surprised over the numbers, to which the AG replied crime rate has not decreased.
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NIA says Rona Wilson a danger to democratic setup of country

NIA says Rona Wilson a danger to democratic setup of country

Free Press Journal / By Bhavna Uchil

Mumbai: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has opposed the pleas for parole made by activists Rona Wilson and Arun Ferreira, accused in the Elgar Parishad case, stating that granting parole to Wilson is a ‘danger to the democratic setup of the country and to the safety of the citizens.
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Bail pleas of Shoma Sen, Varavara Rao rejected / Navlakha´s, Ferreira´s and Wilson´s pleas pending

Bail pleas of Shoma Sen, Varavara Rao rejected / Navlakha´s, Ferreira´s and Wilson´s pleas pending

Hindustan Times / by Charul Shah

The special National Investigating Agency (NIA) court on Friday rejected the interim bail plea filed by Telugu poet P Varavara Rao and activist Dr Shoma Sen, booked for their role in the Elgar Parishad case… Meanwhile, the special court on Friday heard arguments on the plea of civil rights activist Gautam Navlakha, one of the accused in the case, for bail, as the agency failed to submit charge sheet within a stipulated time frame… Another accused lawyer Arun Ferreira and human right activist Rona Wilson booked in the case too have approached the court for release from the jail.
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Mumbai Court Again Refuses Bail To Varavara Rao & Shoma Sen On Medical Grounds

Mumbai Court Again Refuses Bail To Varavara Rao & Shoma Sen On Medical Grounds

LiveLaw / by Nitish Kashyap

A special court in Mumbai on Friday for the second time rejected the interim bail pleas filed by 81-year-old activist and poet Varavara Rao and academic 61-year-old Shoma Sen on medical grounds as they were suffering from multiple ailments or or comorbidities. The detailed order is yet to be made available.
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+++ Varavara Rao and Shoma Sen will now have to proceed to Bombay High Court +++

Open Letter to Maharashtra CM Seeks Interim Bail for Political Detenues

Open Letter to Maharashtra CM Seeks Interim Bail for Political Detenues


Bilaspur, June 25, 2020

Newsclick / by Newsclick Report

New Delhi: Marking the 45th year of the Emergency in India on June, civil rights groups have written an open letter to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, drawing his attention to the “deplorable and abysmal condition of jails and quarantine facilities in Maharashtra”, especially in the light of the raging COVID-19 pandemic, where several political activists are incarcerated.
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Petition On Case Transfer By Bhima Koregaon Accused: Centre Seeks Time To File Reply

Petition On Case Transfer By Bhima Koregaon Accused: Centre Seeks Time To File Reply

Live Law / by Nitish Kashyap

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing in petition filed by two accused in the Bhima Koregaon case challenging transfer of investigation to the National Investigation Agency, after the Centre sought time to file a reply to the contentions raised.
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Elgar Case Transfer: HC Seeks NIA, Centre and Maha Govt Response Before July 14

23/06/2020

Newslick / by pti

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday sought responses from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Central and Maharashtra governments on a petition filed by the two accused, Surendra Gadling and Sudhir Dhawale, challenging transfer of the Elgar Parishad case probe from the Pune police to the NIA.
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Sudha Bharadwaj files interim bail application before Bombay HC

Sudha Bharadwaj files interim bail application before Bombay HC

The Leaflet / by The Leaflet

A petition was filed by Advocates Yug Chaudhury and Ragini Ahuja, before the Bombay High Court, seeking interim bail for Activist and Lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj on medical grounds. Earlier, the bail application of Sudha Bharadwaj was rejected by the Special Judge, National Investigative Agency in Mumbai on May 29, 2020.
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HC TO HEAR ON FRIDAY SUDHA BHARADWAJ’S BAIL APPLICATION

23/06/2020

Outlook – The News Scroll / by pti

Mumbai, Jun 23 (PTI): The Bombay High Court will hear on Friday a bail application filed by activist Sudha Bharadwaj, an accused in the Elgar Parishad case.
Bharadwaj, who was arrested in August 2018, moved the HC last week against the order of the NIA court in Mumbai that rejected her interim bail plea on May 29.
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Sudha Bharadwaj moves Bombay HC against NIA court rejecting interim bail plea

Sudha Bharadwaj moves Bombay HC against NIA court rejecting interim bail plea

The Indian Express / by Espress News Service

Activist Sudha Bharadwaj (58), currently lodged in Mumbai’s Byculla Women’s jail – where an inmate had tested positive for Covid-19 last month – had sought temporary bail before the special court on medical grounds in view of the pandemic. The plea was rejected by the court.
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