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Category: Repeal UAPA

On courts and the tenability of the case / “When Will Trial Start?”: SC asks NIA

On courts and the tenability of the case / “When Will Trial Start?”: SC asks NIA

Just in case: On courts and the tenability of the Bhima Koregaon case

12/08/2022

The Hindu / by Editorial

It is time the tenability of the Bhima Koregaon case was examined by courts.
The grant of bail to the 82-year-old Telugu poet and activist, Varavara Rao, on medical grounds is a welcome relief to at least one of those arraigned in the controversial Bhima-Koregaon case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
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Punishing process: Supreme Court bail for Varavara Rao again raises questions for the justice system

11/08/2022

Times of India / by TOI Edit

In granting permanent medical bail to Varavara Rao, the Supreme Court has made it clear that stringent restrictions against bail in laws like UAPA don’t hinder constitutional courts from protecting fundamental rights. Last year, SC had relied on this principle to uphold bail to a UAPA accused – arguing that his incarceration for over five years while the trial crawled on was unjustified. But Rao’s bail, granted on technical grounds – medical condition, advanced age, adherence to bail conditions, delay in framing charges – doesn’t answer any of the larger questions confronting the justice system.
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“When Will Trial Start?”, “How Will Letters Be Proved?”, Supreme Court Asks NIA In Bhima Koregaon Case

10/08/2022

Live Law / by Livelaw News Network

While hearing Varavara Rao’s bail application, the Supreme Court on Wednesday posed a host of queries to the National Investigation Agency on the Bhima Koregaon case, in which the agency has kept in custody several persons from academic-activist backgrounds on UAPA charges over alleged links with banned Maoist organization.
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Andhra Pradesh: Social activists demand repeal of UAPA

Andhra Pradesh: Social activists demand repeal of UAPA

The Hindu / by Special Correspondent

Activists under the banner of the UAPA Repeal Agitation Committee(URAC) urged Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana to direct the Centre to repeal the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
… Speaking on the occasion, Organisation for Protection of Democratic Rights (OPDR) State president Ch. Sudhakar contended that the Act had been misused against activists in the Bhima Koregaon case.
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Also read:
UAPA Case Data Suggests That Process Is Indeed the Punishment (The Wire / July 2022)

Activists press for repeal of UAPA / UAPA Case Data Suggests That Process Is Indeed the Punishment

Activists press for repeal of UAPA / UAPA Case Data Suggests That Process Is Indeed the Punishment

Andhra Pradesh: Activists press for repeal of UAPA

20/07/2022

The Hindu / by Special Correspondent

‘Its provisions being misused to muzzle voices of those who opposed atrocities against people of weaker sections’
Activists under the banner of the UAPA Repeal Agitation Committee staged a demonstration in front of the Prakasam Bhavan here on Tuesday demanding the repeal of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Leading the protest, Organisation for Protection of Democracy(OPDR) State president Ch. Sudhakar contended that the Act, misused to slap cases against activists in the Bhima Koregaon case, was more draconian than the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities(prevention) ACT(TADA), and urged the Supreme Court to give a direction to the Centre for its repeal.
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UAPA Case Data Suggests That Process Is Indeed the Punishment

20/07/2022

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

Data revealed by the Union home ministry in the Rajya Sabha showed that 97.5% of people arrested under UAPA between 2016 and 2020 have been imprisoned for multiple years while waiting for trial.
Figures released by the Union home ministry in the Rajya Sabha have backed up the belief that the ‘process is the punishment‘, especially when cases are registered under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
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Also watch:

Repeal UAPA – Persecution by Prosecution (PUCL, Jan 2021)

Three Day consultation
► Repeal UAPA – Day One (video: en + … | 2h 17min)
► Repeal UAPA – Day Two (video: en +… | 2h 22min)
► Repeal UAPA – Day Three (video: en + … | 2h 51min)

In Umar Khalid’s Bail Appeal, a Ray of Hope for UAPA Cases?

In Umar Khalid’s Bail Appeal, a Ray of Hope for UAPA Cases?

The Quint / by Vakasha Schdev

While the SC’s Watali judgment is cited to deny bail in UAPA cases, a new interpretation could prevent its misuse.
… On top of the general problems with the justice system that have led to this situation, Khalid’s continued incarceration, like that of the other accused in the Delhi Riots conspiracy case as well as the Bhima Koregaon matter, is a result of the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act – the UAPA.
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Also watch:

Repeal UAPA – Persecution by Prosecution (PUCL, Jan 2021)

Three Day consultation on 20th, 21st and 22nd January, 2021
► Repeal UAPA – Day One (video: en + … | 2h 17min)
► Repeal UAPA – Day Two (video: en +… | 2h 22min)
► Repeal UAPA – Day Three (video: en + … | 2h 51min)

PUCL welcomes the initial step towards the complete repeal of the colonial law of Sedition

PUCL welcomes the initial step towards the complete repeal of the colonial law of Sedition

PUCL welcomes the initial step towards the complete repeal of the colonial law of Sedition

12/05/2022

By Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)

Press release
The Peoples Union for Civil Liberties welcomes the order of the Supreme Court dated 11.05.22 in the petition filed by Army veteran Major-General SG Vombatkere (Retired) as well as PUCL and a range of other petitioners challenging the constitutional validity of Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.  In its petition, the PUCL had pleaded that owing to the development of constitutional law, the law of sedition of the colonial era had no place; it was overbroad, vague, arbitrary, violating the sacrosanct freedom of speech and expression, hence it was imperative to strike it down as it was unconstitutional.
Read full statement


Will SC’s Sedition Order Mean Relief for Delhi Riots, Bhima Koregaon Accused?

12/05/2022

The Quint / by Mekhala Saran

Simply put: the Supreme Court’s order in the pleas challenging the sedition law is unlikely to do so. Here’s why…
“I have every right to criticise the government. BJP-RSS do not constitute country. They do not constitute nation. They have taken a jibe against Modi, against his policies. How is this sedition?” Advocate Nihalsingh Rathod, appearing for Ramesh Gaichor and Sagar Gorkha — two of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case — had told a special court in November 2021.
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Suspending sedition: No cause for celebration

13/05/2022

Deccan Herald / by Shikha Mukerjee

There really is no cause for celebration after the conditional suspension of the infamous Section 124 A, otherwise known as the Sedition Act of 1870. The statute books have so many other equally infamous laws, starting with the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act amended and strengthened in 2019, and the 2019 expansion of the National Investigation Agency Act that dumping a “colonial-era” law and claims to be respectful of human rights and liberties is a phoney gesture.
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PUDR: When The Process becomes The Punishment

PUDR: When The Process becomes The Punishment

Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) / by PUDR

Tomorrow, 14th April 2022 marks the completion of two years of PUDR activist Gautam Navlakha’s surrender before the NIA. One of sixteen accused in the infamous Bhima Koregaon case, Gautam has been imprisoned in Taloja Central Jail, Navi Mumbai since 25 May 2020.  For more than six months now, since 12 October 2021, the nearly 70 years old Gautam, an undertrial suffering from multiple health problems has been in solitary confinement in one of 33 cells in the ‘anda’ circle, the High Security Area of Taloja Jail, a space meant to segregate those guilty of heinous crimes.
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Also read:
How the ‘anda cell’ is used to discipline prison inmates (The Indian Express │ Oct 2021)
System of solitary confinement, ‘Anda Cell’, inside the jail be stopped (Groundxero │ Oct 2021)

‘Blot on democracy’: Shashi Tharoor moves Bill to repeal UAPA

‘Blot on democracy’: Shashi Tharoor moves Bill to repeal UAPA

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

In his private member’s Bill, the Congress MP described the law as a ‘tool of abuse’ as its conviction rate since 2014 has been only 2.4%.
… To buttress his arguments against the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Tharoor has mentioned in his Bill, the cases related to tribal rights activist Stan Swamy and Kerala-based journalist Siddique Kappan, who were charged under the Act.
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21 European MPs Express Concern at Treatment of Rights Activists / Solidarity at International Women’s Day

21 European MPs Express Concern at Treatment of Rights Activists / Solidarity at International Women’s Day

21 European MPs Write to Modi Expressing Concern at Treatment of Rights Activists

08/03/2022

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

The MEPs highlighted three particular cases: the arrest of 16 activists in the Elgar Parishad case, the arrest of 13 activists in connection with the protests against the CAA and the detention of Kashmiri activist Khurram Parvez.
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by FLD Brussels (March 8)

Members of @Europarl_EN sent a letter to high level authorities in #India raising the alarm over the dramatic escalation in arrests of HRDs under the #UAPA, incl the #BhimaKoregaon case, CAA protesters & #KhurramParvez, which they condemn in the strongest terms.

Read full letter & signatories at the website of MP Alviina Alametsä
Read full letter

click to enlarge

Rally at International Women’s Day, Berlin (Germany)

08/03/2022

By India Justice Project

On #InternationalWomensDay we remember especially the #womenpoliticalprisoners incarcerated by the Indian govt. In speaking out against their imprisonment, we speak out, too, for the multitudes of people whose struggles they have taken on and carry forward.

Banner: Free all political prisoners in India
UAPA And The Authoritarian Tendencies Of A Democratic Government

UAPA And The Authoritarian Tendencies Of A Democratic Government

Youthkiawaaz / by Salim Usman

The Modi government has, over the years, used the UAPA to counter any narrative that goes against their views and uses the law to arbitrarily arrest those who have spoken against them.
The unprecedented rise in countries exhibiting authoritarian tendencies throughout the world in the past few years, and the large number of human rights violations committed by state actors, is a matter of concern not just for the particular country’s political, social and economic circles but also for the international political community.
… perhaps the starkest example of the weaponisation of the UAPA was its use against those accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence case.
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Civil society renews demand for repeal of UAPA, AFSPA and Sedition Law

Civil society renews demand for repeal of UAPA, AFSPA and Sedition Law


Drawing by Arun Ferreira

Civil society renews demand for repeal of UAPA, AFSPA and Sedition Law

14/12/2021

Kashmir Media Service / by KMS

Prominent civil society groups and activists as well as lawyers held a public meeting at the Press Club of India and demanded repeal of black laws like Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, sedition law, and Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.
The speakers explained various aspects of the black laws, their history of use by various governments in India to try to silence the voices of the people, and said in one voice that in a democracy there was no place for such laws. Those who addressed the meeting included M K Venu of The Wire, Vikas Bajpai, Ish Mishra and A Dubey of Janhastakshep, civil rights activist Sanjay Parikh and lawyer and civil rights activist N D Pancholi.
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Bail to Sudha Bharadwaj: Civil rights groups demand release of all BK case accused

14/12/2021

Counterview / by Counterview

Civil rights groups, even as welcoming the Supreme Court order granting default bail to Advocate Sudha Bharadwaj, have demanded that release of all human rights defenders arrested in the Bhima Koregaon (BK) case.
The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) said the “short order of the Supreme Court” on December 7 dismissing the Special Leave Petition (SLP) of the National Investigation Agency (NIA)” is a “vindication of the long campaign against the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by the PUCL and other allied groups.
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Read full statement: PUCL Welcomes Bail for Sudha Bharadwaj


Over 50% of those arrested under UAPA were under 30, Centre tells Parliament

15/12/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The government said it was not considering any amendments to the anti-terror law, which critics say is being increasingly used to stifle dissent.
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