Statements – free them all

‘I have empirical basis… I stand by what I’ve written, I’ve no regrets’: Gautam Navlakha

17/02/2026 Asha

Bail ! Gautam with his partner Sabha Husain. May 2024.

The Indian Express / by Vineet Bhalla

Back in Delhi after being released on bail in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case, Navlakha says he is thankful to the govt for bringing the co-accused together, says ‘knew only 2 of the 15 earlier’.
Finally home at his Delhi residence after nearly six years – four of which were spent in jail and house arrest – Gautam Navlakha offers a wry observation about the state’s crackdown that upended his life. The 73-year-old journalist, writer and human rights activist notes that before the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case, he knew only two of his 15 co-accused personally.
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Also read:
▪ Voices From Prison: In The Isolation of the Anda Ward, We Dared To Sing, Writes Gautam Navlakha (Outlook / Jan 2026)
▪ Bombay High Court allows Gautam Navlakha to return to Delhi, relaxes restrictive bail condition in Bhima Koregaon Case (Sabrang India / Dec 2025)

Gautam Navlakha has a tremendous archive of writings from the 1980s to the present, documented by The Friends of Gautam Navlakha.
To read some of his recent writings and a full list of his articles with NewsClick, Economic & Political Weekly and the platform Sanhati visit: Gautam Navlakha – Journalist, Human Rights Defender, Political Prisoner

Unlawful: Editorial on the Bhima Koregaon case and denial of liberty under UAPA

12/02/2026 Asha

The Telegraph / by The Editorial Board

After eight years, no charges have been framed. This is a shocking failure of the operations of justice that brings up disturbing questions about the commitment to the Constitution
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act makes bail difficult for those charged under it. It seems, however, that clapping UAPA on persons by accusing them of Maoist links, of plots to incite violence and conspiracy against the State, gives authorities a free hand to curtail the freedom of the accused even after bail is granted. Of the 16 people arrested under the UAPA for the Bhima-Koregaon violence in 2018, 14 were granted bail after an average of five years or more.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Inside the NIA’s ‘Perfect’ Conviction Record: How Coercive Detentions Are Driving Guilty Pleas (The Wire / Dec 2025)
▪ Elgaar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case: 16 accused, 1 dead, 1 in custody, 14 out on bail. The bail diaries (The Indian Express / Feb 2026)
▪ Bail for Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor, five years and five months after arrest (SabrangIndia / Jan 2026)
▪ In Surendra Gadling’s case, adjournment becomes the verdict (Frontline / Aug 2025)
▪ UAPA – CRIMINALISING DISSENT AND STATE TERROR – Study of UAPA Abuse in India, 2009-2022 (PUCL / Sep 2022). Download report

Teltumbde Slams Police After Kala Ghoda Arts Festival Cancels Book Event / Response by Kala Ghoda director

04/02/2026 Asha

‘Controversy is best avoided, festival safety paramount’: Kala Ghoda director

13/02/2026

The Indian Express / by Heena Khandelwal

First response on dropping discussion involving Teltumbde
In her first response on the cancellation of a discussion involving activist Anand Teltumbde at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF) on the orders of the Mumbai Police, festival director Brinda Miller said she was unaware of the controversy until the police reached out to her.
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‘Controversy best avoided’: Kala Ghoda festival director after Anand Teltumbde book event cancelled

13/02/2026

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

A book discussion at the Mumbai festival featuring the activist was scheduled for February 6 but was cancelled on the orders of the Mumbai Police.
A week after a book discussion at Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda Arts Festival featuring activist Anand Teltumbde was cancelled on police orders, the director of the festival said it was best to “avoid controversy and unnecessary sensationalism”, The Indian Express reported.
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Will You Go With Anand Teltumbde?

05/02/2026

The Wire / by S. Anand

After his event in a Kala Ghoda event was cancelled, activist Anand Teltumbde discussed the Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna with a friend, focusing on his explorations of presence and absence.
That Anand Teltumbde, the Annihilator, who lives in a small part of a very large building called Rajgruha in Mumbai, was going to attend the ongoing Kala Ghoda Arts Festival was not known to us at Navayana. Most of the world minus the minor elites of Mumbai and those plugged into lit fest circuits would not have known about this festival or this one small event within it. Then the state gets in on the act. Cancel, they say, and the organisers of KGAF, whose slogan tellingly is ‘ahead of the curve’, quickly oblige before apologising to Teltumbde and his fellow panellists with a ‘Hi all’ email. The show, as they say, must go on.
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‘Cancel culture’: Discussion with activist Anand Teltumbde at Kala Ghoda festival scrapped amid backlash

05/02/2026

The Print / by Purva Chitnis

A book discussion scheduled Thursday featuring scholar and civil rights activist Anand Teltumbde at Mumbai’s famous Kala Ghoda festival was cancelled allegedly on orders of the Mumbai Police.
Scroll editor Naresh Fernandes was to moderate a discussion titled ‘Incarcerated: Tales from Behind Bars’ also featuring author-journalist Neeta Kolhatkar, who penned the book, ‘The Feared: Conversations with Eleven Political Prisoners,’ on 5 February.
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Cops halt talk on Teltumbde’s book at KGAF

05/02/2026

Hindustan Times / by Vinay Dalvi

The event encompassed a discussion on activist and accused in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon violence case Anand Teltumbde’s book ‘The Cell and the Soul: A Prison Memoir’
Mumbai police denied permission for a programme titled Incarcerated: Tales from Behind Bars, which was slated to be held on Thursday as part of the ongoing Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF), late on Tuesday night. The event encompassed a discussion on activist and accused in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon violence case Anand Teltumbde’s book ‘The Cell and the Soul: A Prison Memoir’ and journalist Neeta Kolhatkar’s recently published work ‘The Feared: Conversations with Eleven Political Prisoners’, at the David Sassoon Library and Reading Room.
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‘Ridiculous’: Anand Teltumbde Slams Police After Kala Ghoda Arts Festival Cancels Book Event

04/02/2026

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

Calling the police’s interference “ridiculous”, Teltumbde said that the development feels strange, especially when his book has been in the public domain for some time and public events around his books have been happening over the past many months.
Claiming that the Mumbai police have denied permission, the organisers of Mumbai’s well-known Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF) have cancelled a book discussion in which civil rights activist and academic Anand Teltumbde was scheduled to speak. The event, titled Incarcerated: Tales from Behind Bars, was meant to be held on Thursday evening. The cancellation was communicated through an email late evening on February 3.
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Book Event On Undertrial Prisoners At Kala Ghoda Arts Festival Cancelled After Right-Wing Uproar

04/02/2026

Outlook India / by Priyanka Tupe

Organisers of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival cancelled a panel discussion on incarceration and political prisoners late on February 3, citing police pressure after an uproar by right wing social media users. The event was to feature Anand Teltumbde, Neeta Kolhatkar, and Naresh Fernandes at Mumbai’s David Sassoon Library Garden.
‘Incarcerated: tales from behind bars’ an event part of the renowned Kala Ghoda festival in Mumbai has been cancelled by the organisers at midnight of February 3. Participants Anand Teltumbde, eminent writer and under trial prisoner of the Bhima Koregaon case, journalist and writer Neeta Kolhatkar and journalist Naresh Fernandes were among the panellists.
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Anand Teltumbde book discussion dropped from Kala Ghoda Festival after online backlash, organisers cite police request

04/02/2026

The Indian Express / by Heena Khandelwal

Festival director calls decision “unforeseen and unfortunate”; Police sources cite ‘inappropriate’ use of govt, police banner with guest who had been arrested in the past.
A book discussion featuring activist and academic Anand Teltumbde at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF) was cancelled on Tuesday night, allegedly following directions from the Mumbai Police, soon after details of the event were made public.
Read more

▪ The Cell and the Soul – A Prison Memoir

Author: Anand Teltumbde
Publishing Date: Sep 2025
Publisher: Bloomsbury India
Pages: 256
Read more/order

Also read:
▪Book Launch | ‘Never Imagined I’d Be Qualified For Arrest, Let Alone Write a Prison Memoir’: Anand Teltumbde (The Wire / Nov 2025)
▪Bombay HC refuses to allow Bhima Koregaon accused Anand Teltumbde to travel abroad for lectures (Scroll.in / Oct 2025)
▪ Maharashtra Special Public Security Act, Pre-Emptive Criminalisation And Indefinite Surveillance (Outlook | by Anand Teltumbde | Aug 2025)

▪ The Feared – Conversations with Eleven Political Prisoners

Author: Neeta Kolhatkar
Publishing Date: Dec 2024
Publisher: S&S India
Pages: 272
Read more/order

▪ Maharashtra: Activists, Lawyers Added to ‘Union War Book’, Listed as ‘Enemies of the State’ (The Wire / Jul 2021)

India’s bail crisis: The need to review denials

30/01/2026 Asha

Credits: Drawing by Arun Ferreira / The Polis Project

India’s bail crisis: The need to review denials

30/01/2026

Bar & Bench / by Dr Ajay Kummar Pandey

Denying bail carries no institutional risk, while granting it carries significant personal risk.
Our bail system has been turned upside down. Magistrates who grant bail face scrutiny, transfer and whispered allegations of corruption. Those who deny bail – even when the law clearly mandates it – face nothing. Not even a cursory review.
… Meanwhile, three-quarters of India’s prison population consists of people who haven’t been convicted of anything.
Father Stan Swamy was 84 years old and suffering from Parkinson’s disease, when he died in judicial custody in July 2021. He had been waiting for bail for 9 months.
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India’s Bail Crisis: Justice Delayed, Liberty Denied

30/01/2026

Whalesbook / by Ananya Iyer

India’s bail system is critically inverted, with judges fearing repercussions for granting bail, resulting in overcrowded prisons. Approximately 70,000 bail applications annually reach the Supreme Court, while three-quarters of the prison population remains unconvicted. Tragic cases highlight the human cost of prolonged pre-trial detention. This systemic failure, rooted in a broken incentive structure, means incarceration often serves as punishment before conviction, demanding urgent institutional reform.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Incarceration As Politics: A Timeline Of Political Prisoners In Independent India (Outlook / Jan 2026)
▪ Shadows of Judicial Indiscipline: On the Supreme Court’s bail denial to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam (The Leaflet / Jan 2026)
▪ 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)
▪ Inconsistencies in Bail Orders Mean Individual Liberty Is the Outcome of Judicial Lottery (The Wire / Oct 2022)

Voices From Prison: Imprisonment Sends A Calculated Message To Everyone Else

28/01/2026 Asha

Outlook / by Abdul Wahid Shaikh

The demand for the release of political prisoners is necessary because any democracy claims pride in guaranteeing fundamental rights
The demand for the release of political prisoners today is haunted by a dangerous vagueness. As the category expands, its meaning becomes thinner.
… there is remarkably little organised effort to secure the release of political prisoners. Whatever exists has steadily retreated from sustained collective organising to the fragile and easily targeted space of social media. This shift appears logical only because the state has relentlessly criminalised even the mildest attempts to raise the issue of political imprisonment. The most chilling example remains the case of Delhi University professor G. N. Saibaba. After his arrest, a defence committee was formed to campaign for his release. At least five of its members were later arrested in the Bhima Koregaon Elgar Parishad case.
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Voices From Prison: Of Lives Stolen For Dissent

20/01/2026

Outlook / by Outlook News Desk

Outlook’s February 1 issue, Thou Shalt Not Dissent, shines a light on the lives of political prisoners who were slapped with anti-terrorism charges and continue to face long trials and curbing of rights.
…
In Outlook’s February 1 issue, Thou Shalt Not Dissent, first-person accounts of political activists who were slapped with anti-terrorism charges under different political regimes, explore life behind bars, the trauma, sights and sounds of a world bereft of freedom, normalcy and reason. Weaved with the accounts are stories of individuals who carry the burden of incarceration like a tumour on the face, afraid to cover it, so it doesn’t chafe, and hesitant to let it free, so it does not translate into their only identity.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Incarceration As Politics: A Timeline Of Political Prisoners In Independent India (Outlook / Jan 2026)
▪ Who Is a ‘Political Prisoner’? Rona Wilson Says Caste and Religion Are Key to the Answer (The Wire / Feb 2025)
▪ Political Prisoners Unite the British Raj and ‘New India’ (The Wire / Sep 2022)

How Not To Defend Umar Khalid / Shadows of Judicial Indiscipline / From Protest to Persecution

16/01/2026 Asha

An Injustice Strengthened by Political Silence

18/01/2026

Peoples Democracy / by Brinda Karat

The Supreme Court’s refusal to grant bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, while accepting the bail pleas of five other accused in the same case, is not merely a judicial order affecting two individuals. It marks a deeply troubling moment for constitutional democracy in India.
…
Silence transforms injustice, more so when it has a communal colour, into routine governance. When there is hesitation to challenge unjust court orders, to oppose political persecution carried out through lawless laws like UAPA, whether in the Delhi violence cases, the Bhima Koregaon prosecutions or the NewsClick case, the ruling regime faces no real political cost for its repression, all under the pretext of “national security.” In such a political climate, even the custodial death of a Stan Swamy — caused by the sheer cruelty of denying bail and even basic facilities despite his serious health conditions — becomes normalised.
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How Not To Defend Umar Khalid

16/01/2026

The Wire / by Ajay Gudvarthy

The problem with Umar for the current regime is his refusal to be constrained within a Muslim body and identity. Very much similar to a Dalit like Anand Teltumbde who is not Dalit enough because he speaks of right to education and corporate Hindutva.
Umar Khalid is arrested not because he is a Muslim. He is under detention because he does not wear his Muslim identity on his sleeves. He remains incarcerated not because he protested against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) but because he was agitated about what is happening to the tribals in central India and was resisting the damage being done to the economy that was emaciating the working poor.
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Shadows of Judicial Indiscipline: On the Supreme Court’s bail denial to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam

07/01/2026

The Leaflet / by Indira Jaising

In both the Bhima Koregaon and Delhi riots cases, a wrongful invoking of UAPA and obdurate refusal to follow precedent on delay in trial, raise legitimate questions on the independence of the judiciary.
At the heart of the controversy relating to the denial of bail to Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid is a simple question: what is the crime that they have committed? What if they have committed no crime at all under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967? Would bail still have been denied to them?
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From Protest to Persecution: The Supreme Court’s defining Moment in Delhi Riot Case

07/01/2026

PUDR / by PUDR

On 5 January 2026, the Supreme Court delivered its first substantive order in the so-called ‘Delhi riots conspiracy case’ of FIR 59/2020 under UAPA, to grant bail to five (Gulfisha Fatima, Shifa ur Rehman, Meeran Haider, Md Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmad) and reject the bail of two (Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam).
… the Supreme Court walks back on its own precedent in Vernon Gonsalves, which held that in determining the existence of a prima facie case to deny bail under UAPA, courts are empowered to look into the probative value or patent inadmissibility of prosecutorial materials. In the order of 5 January 2026, the Supreme Court states: “the inquiry is one of statutory plausibility, not evidentiary sufficiency”.
Read full statement

When a Government Targets Its Citizens

07/01/2026

Countercurrents.org / by Hiren Gohain

Does anyone remember the Bhima Koregaon incident now? Certain well-known people active and well-regarded for their work in academic areas as well as in social action to bring justice to victims of state repression and social discrimination as well as human rights violations,had been detained following midnight arrests on hair-raising charges of conspiring to assassinate the Prime Minister and destroy the state. It had shaken the fragile world of the media, though not the workaday world.
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Justice Delayed, Selectively Denied

05/01/2026

Youth Ki Awaaz / by Geetika Kaur

The denial of bail to Umar Khalid this week is not an isolated legal decision. It sits within a larger and deeply disturbing pattern in India’s criminal justice system, one where activists, students, lawyers, and environmentalists languish in jail for years without conviction, while those convicted of rape, murder, or mass violence repeatedly find the doors of prison opening for them.
… Stan Swamy died in custody after repeated denial of bail despite his age and illness. Sudha Bharadwaj spent years in jail before being granted bail, not because she was acquitted, but because prolonged incarceration without trial became legally indefensible. Gautam Navlakha remained under incarceration and house arrest for years on allegations that rested largely on contested digital evidence.
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The spectacle of justice in the Delhi riots case is cover for polarisation and violence

06/01/2026

Scroll.in / by Akash Bhattacharya

In the six years since, a series of incidents in the national capital have intensified this schism while Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam remain incarcerated.
The capital of India, Delhi is no stranger to political violence. But the Delhi riots of 2020 set a new benchmark. The violence not only ended lives and livelihoods, it also transformed the city’s social and political landscape for the worse.
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Also read:
▪ How The Supreme Court’s Bail Order Against Umar, Sharjeel Enables Govt Efforts To Silence Muslim Voices (article 14 / Jan 2026)
▪ After Five Years in Jail, Bail Still Barred for Two: Supreme Court denies bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in Delhi riots case (Sabrangindia / Jan 2026)
▪ Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and The Moral Arc of the Universe (The Wire / Jan 2026)
▪ In UAPA Bail Hearing, Defence Not To Be Considered; Only See If Prosecution Has Shown Prima Facie Case : Supreme Court (Live Law / Jan 2026)
Read judgment
▪ Delhi Riots UAPA Case : Supreme Court’s Bail Conditions Bar Accused From Sharing Posts Digitally & Attending Gatherings (Live Law / Jan 2026)
▪ Why SC denied bail to Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam but awarded it to five other anti-CAA activists (Scroll.in / Jan 2026)
▪ Recovering the Basics: The Supreme Court’s Bail Order in Vernon Gonsalves’ Case (Constitutional Law and Philosophy / Jul 2023)
▪ Amit Shah’s ‘Bhima Koregaon Model’ Used For Anti-CAA Protests (NDTV / May 2020)

Imperative for Understanding Evolution of Human Rights Paradigm: Whither Human Rights in India

15/01/2026 Asha

Sabrang India / by Harsh Thakor

‘Whither Human Rights in India’ is a comprehensive exploration of how the devastation of human rights over the parts decade symbolise a crucial departure or rupture, manifesting a new fascist paradigm
‘Whither Human Rights in India,’ edited by Anand Teltumbde, is a critical and outstanding collection of essays navigating India’s human rights landscape, exploring diverse arenas Ike majoritarianism, state violence, systemic inequality (Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims), judicial issues, hate speech, and threats to vulnerable groups.
Resurrecting the outlook of Father Stan Swamy and Prof. G. N. Saibaba, Whither Human Rights in India is both a chronicle of resistance and a call to reshape the future of democracy and human dignity.
Read more

▪ Whither Human Rights in India

Critical Essays on Democracy, State Power, Civil Liberties & the Lived Realities of Dalits, Adivasis, Minorities & More

Whither Human Rights in India, edited by Anand Teltumbde, one of India’s prominent human rights activists, is a searing and indispensable anthology that brings together some of the most important thinkers, activists and human rights defenders of our time. The essays trace the historical and ideological roots of India’s human rights discourse—from colonial legacies and constitutional guarantees to the challenges posed by majoritarian politics, state violence and systemic inequality.

Editor: Anand Teltumbde
Publishing Date: Nov 2025
Publisher: Penguin Viking
Pages: 400
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Release APCLC activists, protect right to political critique

15/01/2026 Asha

PUDR / by People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR)

PUDR condemns the arrest of Kranthi Chaitanya, Vice-President of the Civil Liberties Committee (Andhra Pradesh unit), and fellow activist Mohan Krishna on 9 January 2026, and their subsequent remand to judicial custody on 10 January. The FIR, based on a complaint filed by the President of the Sanatana Dharma Protection Committee, a resident of Tirupati, accuses them of erecting “provocative banners.”
…
The sections invoked in this case are non-bailable and carry a minimum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment. The arrests, coupled with the FIR’s expansive use of criminal conspiracy provisions, signal yet another attack on activists and civil liberties organisations, many of which are already under sustained pressure following the Bhima Koregaon arrests.
Read full statement

Also read:
▪ India: Authorities must immediately repeal repressive new criminal laws (Amnesty International / Jul 2024)
▪ Explainer: How the Sedition Law Has Been Used in the Modi Era (The Wire / Mai 2022)

‘When you are jailed, they want to break you. The best way to resist is to not succumb’: Hany Babu

15/12/2025 Asha

I realised that through Allah I can have the strength to face what was before me: Hany Babu

15/12/2025

Frontline / by Ajaz Ashraf

The activist says prison strips life of meaning, and faith in Allah became a source of strength during his five years in jail.
… In this interview, Hany Babu talks about freedom, the daily brutalities of jail life, and the turn towards Islam and Allah that sustained him during his imprisonment.

Edited excerpts:
You were arrested on July 28, 2020, and released on bail on December 4 this year (2025). How does freedom feel from inside and outside jail? Does it involve aspects of life that we take for granted only because they seem insignificant?

I was in jail for five years and four months. What you say about insignificant aspects of life constituting freedom is indeed true.
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‘When you are jailed, they want to break you. The best way to resist is to not succumb’: Hany Babu

15/12/2025

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

Out on bail, Elgaar Parishad case accused speaks about his five years in prison, staying in touch with family, and letter exchanges that felt like “living in multiple time zones.”
For the five years that he spent in jail as an undertrial in the Elgaar Parishad case, says Hany Babu M T, he often dreamt that he was back teaching at Delhi University, attending academic conferences, or meeting authorities over implementation of OBC reservation (a pet concern of his).
Read more

Also read:
▪ After more than five years in prison, Prof. Hany Babu granted regular bail in Bhima Koregaon case (The Leaflet / Dec 2025)
▪ Bombay HC bail for Hany Babu signals a critical reassessment of the Bhima Koregaon Case (CJP / Dec 2025)
▪ And then there were 3: One more granted bail, charges not framed yet, Elgaar Parishad case creaks (The Indian Express / Dc 2025)

Justice On Hold: How India’s Trial Courts Are Creating a New Class of Political Prisoners—Those Accused Of ‘Terrorism’

15/12/2025 Asha

Article 14 / by Nidah Kaiser And Tamanna Pankaj

With a conviction rate of 3.1% over four years in cases filed under India’s anti-terrorism law, and despite repeated Supreme Court orders to the contrary, India’s trial, special and ‘fast-track’ courts routinely detain activists for years without trial, often only granting bail after higher-court intervention. This systemic delay defies constitutional right and has created a de facto class of political prisoners.
India today jails scores of political activists under a slew of laws, primarily the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA), keeping many in custody for years before trial—often only freeing them after bail orders by higher courts.
Take the Bhima Koregaon (BK-16) case, where 16 activists were arrested under UAPA in 2018.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Inside the NIA’s ‘Perfect’ Conviction Record: How Coercive Detentions Are Driving Guilty Pleas (The Wire / Dec 2025)
▪ The Grammar of the Power to Arrest and Search under UAPA (Constitutional Law and Philosophy | by Hany Babu and Surendra Gadling | Jul 2025)
▪ UAPA – CRIMINALISING DISSENT AND STATE TERROR – Study of UAPA Abuse in India, 2009-2022 (PUCL / Sep 2022). Download report