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Who is Sudha Bharadwaj?

Sudha Bharadwaj

Nov 2019

By Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy

Maaysha, Sudha’s daughter: “If fighting for the rights of adivasis, fighting for workers and peasants, fighting against repression and exploitation and giving up one s whole life for them is being a naxalite then I guess naxalites are pretty good.”

“The 6th Annual Harvard Law International Women’s Day Portrait Exhibit showcases the astounding contributions of women around the world to the areas of law and policy. The honorees — each of whom were nominated by HLS students, faculty or staff — are powerful voices in their respective fields, whether they are sitting on a high court bench, standing in front of a classroom, or marching in the streets.”

Or whether they are sitting in jail.

Advocate Sudha Bharadwaj is a 2019 honoree of the Harvard Law International Women’s day exhibition and is sitting in a jail cell in Pune. How did these conflicting positions come about?

Sudha grew up to illustrious parents, and spent the first part of her life as an American citizen. In the next 30 years of her life, she worked tirelessly in Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha (CMM) as a trade unionist and eventually as a lawyer after the CMM, hamstrung in their legal battles by unscrupulous lawyers, found in her the courage and integrity needed to challenge powerful opponents in the courtrooms.

She founded Janhit, giving rigorous legal aid to several industrial workers, villages fighting acquisition and mining, Adivasi communities fighting for forest rights, environmental cases and PIL litigation. Janhit led cases against powerful industrial houses such as Jindal, Vedanta, BALCO, Lafarge Holcim, D.B. Power, Vandana Vidyut, SECL, Bhilai Steel Plant, Monnet Steel, Adani, Hindalco, Grasim, Ultratech and others.

Sudha was instrumental in rebuilding the PUCL group after the arrest and incarceration of its then-President, Dr. Binayak Sen. During this time, she was appointed as the General Secretary of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and worked on issues of human trafficking and attacks on minorities. She also assisted families of victims of human rights violations looked upon as casualties in the conflict zone of Bastar and supported journalists and activists who dared raise their voices and pen against the State excesses in Bastar. She was elected recently as Vice President of the Indian Association of Peoples’ Lawyers (IAPL) and was active in campaigns against attacks on Dalit and human rights lawyers in Chhattisgarh and facilitated an IAPL fact-finding into it.

Sudha was arrested from her Faridabad home which she was sharing with her daughter, Maaysha. During this time, she was a Visiting Professor at the National Law University Delhi, taking Seminar Courses on tribal rights, land acquisition, and the Fifth and Sixth Schedules. This year she was to have taught “Law and Justice in a Globalising World”. Sadly, and ironically, she can’t teach the class as she is in jail. The loss, the students inform us, is all theirs.

Her daughter Maaysha, has in several letters candidly brought to fore Sudha’s tireless spirit and her commitment to her work, “If fighting for the rights of Adivasis, fighting for workers and peasants, fighting against repression and exploitation and giving up one’s whole life for them is being a Naxalite then I guess Naxalites are pretty good.”

Guneet Ahuja, Advocate, Delhi, in an open letter writes about Sudha, “On my first meeting with Sudha ji, I asked her about the competing narratives regarding the condition of indigenous communities in Bastar. Her reply left a deep impact on me: “For a pedestrian on a narrow lane, the car driver is causing the trouble. For the car driver, the pedestrian is the nuisance. Your perspectives change based on where you are placed.”

Sudha is the pedestrian along with all the people she fights for. She believes the road belongs to us. The State is the car who doesn’t want nuisance pedestrians in the way, believes the road belongs to it, and wants it lined with the businesses of its cronies. To the State, Sudha belongs in jail. To us, she is a defender of human rights.

“If you try to be safe and in the middle, you will never succeed.”
Sudha, The Wire

Sudha Bharadwaj Speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

Publisher: Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
Edition: January 2021
Language: English
Sudha Bharadwaj’s interview by: Darshana Mitra and Santanu Chakraborty
Pictures credit: PUCL
Cover Design / Layout: Vinay Jain
Paperback: 316 pages

PDF copy: Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism (PUCL, Jan 2021)
…

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Who is Varavara Rao?

25/12/2019 Rani

Varavara Rao

Nov 2019

By Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy

“When the victory drum started
beating
In the heart of the masses
You mistook it for a person and
trained your guns
Revolution echoed from all
horizons.”

Being thrown into jail is nothing new to the famous Telugu poet Varavara Rao. He has faced at least 25 cases in the last 45 years. His story can be understood through the history of these arrests and the power of his writings, his poetry, his teaching career and his political understandings and analysis of power and oppression, and the path to liberation.
Varavara Rao, or VV was born into a middle class family in Chinna Pendyala, Warangal District, Andhra Pradesh in 1940. He started publishing his poetry at age 17, in 1957, but got interested in revolutionary theory while working as a lecturer at Mahabubnagar. It was during this time that he founded a literature and poetry group called Sahithee Mithrulu and a non-political journal named Srujana to eventually join the Tirugubadu Kavulu (Rebel Poets), who were sympathetic to the armed struggle going on in Srikakulam.
During this time, VV founded the Virasam or Viplava Rachayitala Sangham (Revolutionary Writers’ Association), an association banned by the Andhra Pradesh government in August 2005. The ban was later struck down by the AP High Court in November 2005.
VV, now 74, has published 15 poetry collections of his own, besides having edited a number of anthologies. His poetry has been translated into almost all Indian languages and have appeared in Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and Bengali. His thesis on ‘Telangana Liberation Struggle and Telugu Novel – A Study into Interconnection between Society and Literature’ published in 1983 is considered to be one of the finest works of Marxist critical studies done in Telugu. While in prison he translated Kenyan writer, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s prison diary ‘Detained’ and his novel ‘Devil on the Cross’ into Telugu. He also wrote his own prison diary Sahacharulu (1990), which was translated into English as Captive Imagination.
VV was first arrested under the infamous Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) in Andhra Pradesh, in 1973. He was then arrested during Emergency and was re-arrested at the entrance of the jail and kept imprisoned for an additional week when the Emergency was lifted. He survived many attempts on his life post-Emergency.
He was among the 46 accused of conspiring to overthrow the Andhra Pradesh government in the Secunderabad conspiracy case, and was sent to jail once again in 1985. He was also an accused in the Ramnagar conspiracy case where he was accused to have attended a meeting where the plan to kill two Andhra Pradesh Police constables was hatched. He was finally acquitted of the charges after 17 years, in 2003.
He remains a staunch opposer of neo-liberal globalisation and specifically the globalisation policies adopted by Chandrababu Naidu’s government in the ’90s. He went as an emissary for the People’s War Group in the peace negotiations between the Andhra Pradesh government and Naxalites. After multiple rounds of the talks failed, Virasam was banned only to be reinstated later. Following the banning, Rao was arrested once again in 2005 and was released in 2006. He has been arrested four-times since the formation of the new Telangana state in 2014.
VV has faced at least nine cases under the Arms Act of 1959 and the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 over the last four decades. In perhaps the most ridiculous case, he was charged with distributing bombs to ensure the success of a strike against the custodial death of a Radical Students Union activist in 1985. In response, Varavara Rao wrote a memorable poem, titled :

Reflection
I did not supply the explosives
Nor ideas for that matter
It was you who trod with iron heels
Upon the anthill
And from the trampled earth
Sprouted the ideas of vengeance
It was you who struck the beehive
With your lathi
The sound of the scattering bees
Exploded in your shaken facade
Blotched red with fear
When the victory drum started
beating
In the heart of the masses
You mistook it for a person and
trained your guns
Revolution echoed
from all horizons …

WHO IS VARAVARA RAO?

By India Civil Watch

Varavara Rao (VV) was born in Warangal in 1940. He finished his MA in Telugu literature from Osmania University. He worked as a lecturer in several colleges and transformation towards revolutionary ideas started in Varavara Rao’s mind during his tenure in Mahabubnagar district. …

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Who is Shoma Sen?

24/12/2019 Rani

By Mumbai Rises To Save Democracy

In one of her letters to her daughter, Shoma writes, “They can keep me locked inside, but my mind is completely free”

A reputed academician, a Dalit and Women’s Rights activist, a teacher and dissenter, Shoma Sen is all of the above and more. Born and raised in Mumbai, she moved to Nagpur with her partner and daughter with a strong resolve to protect and promote democratic rights of the most marginalised people in the society.

Shoma has been a respected academic for almost three decades. She has been actively involved with the Women’s Department of Wardha Vishwavidyalaya and taught in various colleges across Nagpur. During the time of her arrest she was the Head of the Department of English at Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University. She has written extensively on post-colonialism and women’s studies for several decades. …

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Who is Arun Ferreira?

25/02/2019 Rani

By India Civil Watch

Arun Ferreira is a human rights lawyer from Mumbai, India. He is a member of the Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights (CPDR) and the Indian Association of People’s Lawyers (IAPL). He studied at Mumbai’s St. Xavier’s College where he developed a strong social conscience, and organised the institution’s canteen workers to demand better work conditions. After college, he worked with slum dwellers in Mumbai before becoming a community organiser in Vidarbha (rural Maharashtra state). …

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Who is Vernon Gonsalves?

25/02/2019 Rani

By Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy

Characterised by a loose cotton half sleeve shirt, loose trousers, spectacles, a jhola and a hearty laughter, Vernon Gonsalves comes across as an effervescent wise man. Gonsalves gets along well with everyone from the age of six to sixty. His demeanour reflects an inner happiness. He started a band in college, but gave it up to be a part of people’s movements. His songs still hold the flavour of 70s rock.
Vernon’s pen is as sharp as his vision for an equitable, just society without distinctions of class, caste, race, with principles of gender equality and justice at its core. He is an acute political observer and makes nuanced arguments about complex sociopolitical-economic issues. Vernon has shown a keenness to understand the latest undercurrents in progressive politics.
He was born to a Mangalorean Catholic couple and grew up in a chawl in a modest locality in Byculla in Mumbai. Vernon was always good with academics and won a gold medal in Commerce from Mumbai University. Subsequently, he left his corporate job in Siemens to work with trade unions, workers, slum dwellers and the working class in Mumbai. During this period, he taught in prominent colleges in Mumbai including Ruparel College, HR College of Commerce and Economics, and Akbar Peerbhoy College of Commerce and Economics. Very few know that, in college he wanted to be a musician. Rumours say that he had also started a band but could not find meaning in it.
Around 1983, he moved to Chandrapur near Nagpur to work with unorganised sector workers including the coal-mine workers in the area. In 1984, he married fellow activist Susan Abraham. It was a union of two unique and fiercely independent minds. They worked in Chandrapur for a decade. After their son Sagar was born in 1994, they returned to Mumbai.
On 19 August 2007, the Maharashtra ATS arrested Vernon from his residence in Andheri, Mumbai. His arrest was falsely shown as from the residence of his co-accused S. Shridhar in Govandi. They were charged with being “top-level” Naxalites having explosives in their possession. For some months prior to this, Vernon had been working for the rights of tribal communities in the Maharashtra district of Chandrapur. 20 cases were filed against him. He spent nearly six years in jail while his trial dragged on as an undertrial. He was acquitted in 18 cases, convicted in one against which his appeal is pending in the Nagpur HC while the application for discharge in the last case in Gujarat is pending before the High Court.
During his years as an undertrial in jail, Vernon spent most of his time writing. He is now working on a collection of prison writings. He edited a set of short stories written while imprisoned, one of which, “Jailbird Jabbar” was written in a typical staccato Bambaiya patois style. He also translated stories by Annabhau Sathe from Marathi to English for Aleph Publication’s “A Clutch of Short Stories.” After his release he wrote articles on prevailing law, rights of Dalit and tribal communities, the condition of prisons in India, land grabbing by the nexus of Corporates and the Government, misuse of the criminal justice system by the governments against marginalised communities, and scrapping of UAPA. One of his last published articles titled “Harsher Punishments and Retributive Criminal Justice” is a landmark commentary on the trends of crime control vis-a-vis justice system in the country.
Vernon’s son Sagar sums what everyone close to him feels about him:
“Among the many things that I admire greatly about my father is his commitment to his beliefs and ideals.To stand up for what is right and help those whose rights are denied – he has always done that and will continue to do so. This did not deter him the last time and will not do it now as well. He has an unbreakable spirit and will always stay true to what he believes in.”

WHO IS VERNON GONSALVES?

By India Civil Watch

Vernon Gonsalves is trade unionist, activist, an academic (former professor of business management in a college in Mumbai) and a writer, who writes extensively on Dalit and adivasi rights, the conditions of prisons in India and the routine violation of rights of prisoners. Along with Arun Ferriera, he has authored a number of popular articles on the condition of Indian jails, the abuse of authority by Indian police, and draconian laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), a piece of ‘anti-terror’ legislation with a wide ambit and vague concepts, which allows its misuse against academics, lawyers and human rights defenders. Equally importantly, their writings expose the hypocrisy of democracy in India. …

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Who is Sudhir Dhawale?

24/02/2019 Rani

Sudhir Dhawale

Nov 2019

By Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy

Sudhir believes that every revolution has to be “unique”

Sudhir Dhawale’s rm commitment to activism is grounded in his belief in justice. Growing up in Indora , a centre of Ambedkarite politics in Nagpur, Sudhir has since his younger days, been actively involved in the struggles for human rights and dignity. He was part of people’s movement in Nagpur until 1994 then moved to Bombay in search of work opportunities.

From 1995, Sudhir Dhawale dedicated his life towards ghting against the atrocities on Dalits and other marginalized communities.. He was active in the streets and in the courts and has worked on incidents of Dalit atrocities such as the Ghatkopar Ramabai Nagar Dalit Hatyakand, in which 10 Dalits were gunned down by the Mumbai police for agitating against the desecration of a Dr. Ambedkar Statue in 1997. He was also involved in the Khairlanji agitation (against the massacre of a Dalit family in 2006), the Baban Misal murder in Ahmadnagar district in 2008, the ruthless murder of Sahebrao Jondhale in Marathwada in 2008, the Sadashiv Salve Guruji murder in Beed district in 2009, the Manorama Kamble gang rape and murder case in Nagpur in 2009, the Rohidas Tupe murder in Palgaon near Aurangabad in 2009, and many more cases of atrocities against Dalits in Maharashtra.

In 2002, following the Gujarat pogrom massacres, he started a Marathi magazine named Vidrohi. It started as a four-page magazine and soon doubled into eight pages. In a few years, it took the shape of a full- edged magazine which was published twice every month and spoke of pertinent issues concerning the country. It continues to play a pivotal role in bringing in the Dalit voice on human rights abuse of Dalits and other minorities across India, and also publishes fact- nding reports and valuable literature.

After the Khairlanji massacre took place in 2006, many Ambedkarite, left and other progressive organizations felt the need to form and drive a movement based on anti- caste politics with a concrete long-term program of caste annihilation. With this understanding, on December 6, 2007 at the Chaityabhoomi in Mumbai, the Republican Panthers Jaatiya Antachi Chalwal (Republican Panthers Caste Annihilation Movement) was formed. Sudhir, one of the founding members of this organisation, with years of experience and political intellect, evolved a new theoretical framework for the Republican Panthers situating the caste annihilation program at its centre. As a cultural group, Republican Panthers brought their revolutionary music and street theatre to the slums, trade unions, school and protests, to describe the atrocity that is the Hindu caste system.

In 2011, the Maharashtra police arrested Dhawale on charges of sedition and of being a member of and providing support to a terrorist organisation. In May 2014, after Dhawale had spent 40 months in incarceration, RG Asmar—a judge presiding over a special UAPA court in Gondia, a district in Maharashtra— pronounced a judgment acquitting Dhawale and eight others of all charges. The judgment was strongly worded, and the court came down heavily against the state police for its investigation.

It is believed that it was the magazine Vidrohi that brought the ire of the establishment and became the reason for his arrest. Upon his release Sudhir did not only increase the reach of Vidrohi but also led many protests and marches on di erent social issues. He was actively leading several joint fronts formed against caste atrocities, like the Jatiya Atyachar Virodhi Kruti Samiti, the Joint Action Committee for Social justice, the Bhima Koregaon Shaurya Din Prearna Abhiyan and many more.
Incidentally, the lawyer who represented him in the 2011 case was Surendra Gadling, his co-accused in the current Bhima Koregaon case.

Sudhir also incorporated his political experiences and understanding on the paper. It was not only through the Vidrohi magazine, but also many books that he wrote and edited, on diverse socio-political issues. During his time in prison, he has written three books. His writings are sharpened through the assimilation of the pain and struggle of the masses.

Sudhir along with others, had called for the Elgar Parishad on December 31, 2017, bringing together Dalit, Maratha and Muslim leaders on one platform to commemorate the two- hundredth anniversary of the Bhima Koregaon battle and to discuss the State’s crackdown on the marginalised sections of the society.

As an organizer, writer, poet, playwright, freelance journalist and editor of Marathi magazine Vidrohi, Sudhir Dhawale has tried to bring the issues of injustice and atrocities against Dalits in the public domain to make democracy a substantive force and movement in the country.

Sudhir’s words are active, gritty, and capable of moving stones.
Sudhir explains that every revolution has to be “unique”.
To our own unique Revolution…

“What sort of a city is this?

What sort of people are you?

When injustice is done there should
be a revolt in the city.

And if there is no revolt,

It were better that the city should
perish in fire before the night falls…”

Lines from The good Person of Szechwan
a play written by Brecht. The lines
in Marathi were quated in the fir for
`provoking´ the crowd present in Elgar Parishad.

Who is Sudhir Dhawale?

By India Civil Watch

After spending close to four years (2011-2014) in jail in India (where he was denied every kind of human right) on charges of being a ‘Naxalite’, Sudhir Dhawale was acquitted of all charges. Reflecting on his traumatic experience, Sudhir soberly identifies his private struggle as being part of a much larger public and collective struggle for democratic values. Sudhir: …

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Who is Surendra Gadling?

24/02/2019 Rani

By India Civil Watch

Surendra Gadling is a human rights lawyer and General Secretary of the Indian Association of Peoples’ Lawyers (IAPL). Among those he has represented are numerous human rights defenders arrested on fabricated charges of being anti-national. …

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Who is Mahesh Raut?

24/02/2019 Rani

Mahesh Raut

Nov 2019

By Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy

“Mahesh is highly loved and respected in all these villages and one with the people I visited. They treated him as if he were a member of their own house!”

Hailing from Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district, Mahesh Raut is a young prominent activist working for the rights of Adivasi communities in his district. Born in Lakhapur, a small village in Maharashtra, Mahesh completed his schooling from Gadchiroli and moved to Nagpur for graduation. He later went on to pursue higher education from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. On completing his education he worked as Prime Minister Rural Development Fellow (PMRDF) in Gadchiroli. He has tirelessly advocated for laws like The Provisions of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act and Forest Rights Act which protect the democratic rights of indigenous communities against unlawful land grabbing by large corporations. Mahesh has consistently worked to protect and promote the rights of the marginalised within a Constitutional framework. On completion of his fellowship, Mahesh decided to continue working with the Adivasi communities in the State.

Mahesh organised and participated in mass movements to abet the cause of social welfare. He was the co-convenor of Visthapan Vidrohi Jan Vikas Andolan (VVJVA) which ghts against the forced displacement of Adivasis and other marginalised people. As a member of VVJVA, Mahesh organised the Tendu leaves workers from Adivasi communities of the region to sell them directly in the market without the involvement of middlemen.

Along with campaigning for the Adivasis of the region, he also joined the Bharat Jan Andolan (BJA), an organisation started by late BD Sharma. Through his work with BJA, Mahesh has been instrumental in organising people for participative decision making in regions a ected by mining projects, including the Surajgarh mining project.

His work against the atrocities of Police and several State authorities led to several cases being led against him. According to a letter drafted by his PMRDF fellows, the State’s crackdown on Mahesh started from 2013 citing his consistent political engagement as one of the reasons for his harassment. His friend and fellow activist Sohini Shoaib, working in Bihar writes about her visit to Gadchiroli, “Mahesh was highly loved and respected in all these villages and one with the people I visited. They treated him as if he were a member of their own house! Some of them even tried to get me to convince him to get married: they thought he worked too hard and did not take care of his health enough. They hoped that nding a partner would help him feel less lonely, help him balance other aspects of life!”

In 2018, Mahesh was picked up by the Pune Police for his alleged involvement in organising the Elgar Parishad and his alleged Maoist links. He was booked under sections of the UAPA and arrested from his residence in Nagpur. Neither was he involved in organising the Elgar Parishad nor did he attend the 31st December events. His arrest is a clear crackdown of the State on Human Rights defenders who are struggling against the State and Corporation nexus. His contributions to promote and uphold Constitutional rights of the marginalised identities have led him to persecution and consequent imprisonment. His incarceration is a standing testament of the State’s repression of Rights’ activists who protect the values of the Constitution which the same State is trampling upon.

Mahesh Raut (left) and Lalsu Narote. Foto credit: Javed Iqbal/ The Wire

Who is Mahesh Raut?

By India Civil Watch

Lalsu Nogoti, an elected district council member from Bhamragad in Maharashtra is speaking about the work of Mahesh Raut:
“He first came to us as a part of the PMRD [Prime Minister’s Rural Development] fellowship in 2013. He would visit every village with other government officials and meticulously note down grievances and parallelly also research on several village and state-level policies that could come to our rescue. His work in the formative years helped us build our struggles in the coming days.”
…

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Who is Rona Wilson?

24/02/2019 Rani

By India Civil Watch

Rona Wilson is the 47-year old Public Relations Secretary of the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners (CRPP). He was arrested under the UAPA on June 6, 2018, in Delhi, at the same time as Shoma Sen, Surendra Gadling, and Mahesh Raut in Nagpur and Sudhir Dhawale in Mumbai, and accused of channeling Maoist funds for the Elgar Parishad and fomenting violence in Bhima Koregaon.

…

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Who is Gautam Navlakha?

23/02/2019 Rani

By India Civil Watch

Gautam Navlakha is a Delhi-based veteran journalist, author, civil liberties, human rights and peace activist best known for his fierce and sustained critique of the Indian state’s militarism against its own citizenry in three broad zones – the northeastern states, Kashmir valley, and the central Indian forested zone in Chhattisgarh. He has been actively involved with the People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) – one of India’s leading civil liberties and democratic rights defence organizations- working to protect, extend and help implement fundamental rights as guaranteed in the Indian constitution.
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Hany Babu walks out of jail after spending nearly 2,000 days under UAPA

06/12/2025 Asha

by Maktoob / @MaktoobMedia (Dec 6, 2025):
Dr. Hany Babu walks out of jail after spending nearly 2,000 days under UAPA
Dr. Hany Babu, scholar and noted social justice activist, walked out of jail today after he was granted bail by the Bombay High Court, spending over five and a half years in jail under UAPA in the Bhima Koregaon

by Dalit Camera / @DalitCamera (Dec 6,2025):
Hany Babu is out of prison. 5 and half years on fabrication.

After more than five years in prison, Prof. Hany Babu granted regular bail in Bhima Koregaon case

05/12/2025

The Leaflet / by The Leaflet

Bombay High Court grants bail to Bhima Koregaon accused Hany Babu after 5 years in jail [Read order]

04/12/2025

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

Babu was arrested on July 28, 2020, and has been in custody for over five years.
The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to Delhi University professor Hany Babu arrested in 2018 for his alleged involvement in the Bhima Koregaon violence case [Hany Babu v. National Investigation Agency & Ors.].
The prosecuting agency sought a stay on the order to enable them to file an appeal against it before the Supreme Court.
Read more
Read order

And then there were 3: One more granted bail, charges not framed yet, Bhima Koregaon case creaks

06/12/2025 Asha

After more than five years in prison, Prof. Hany Babu granted regular bail in Bhima Koregaon case

05/12/2025

The Leaflet / by The Leaflet

With Prof. Babu being granted bail, twelve persons arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case are now out on bail.
On Thursday, the Bombay High Court granted regular bail to former Delhi University professor Hany Babu in connection with the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case.
…
As many as twelve accused are out on bail:
– On February 22, 2021, the Bombay High Court granted P. Varavara Rao medical bail. Later, the Supreme Court granted permanent medical bail to him.
– On December 1, 2021, the Bombay High Court granted Sudha Bharadwaj default bail. Later, the Supreme Court confirmed her release on bail.
– On November 18, 2022, the Bombay High Court granted Anand Teltumbde bail on merits. Later, the Supreme Court dismissed NIA’s plea against his bail.
– On July 28, 2023, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira were granted regular bail by the Supreme Court on July 28, 2023 after finding no prima facie case against them.
– On April 5, 2024, Shoma Sen was granted regular bail by the Supreme Court finding no prima facie case against her.
– On May 14, 2024, the Supreme Court lifted the stay on the bail earlier granted to Gautam Navlakha.
– In January 2025, the Bombay High Court granted bail to Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale.
– Recently, co-accused Jyoti Jagtap was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court, while Mahesh Raut was granted interim bail on medical grounds. Raut already has an order in his favour on merits, but the Supreme Court continued the stay on his regular bail for two years.
– Now, the Bombay High Court granted Hany Babu bail.
Read more

And then there were 3: One more granted bail, charges not framed yet, Elgaar Parishad case creaks

04/12/2025

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak and Omkar Gokhale

In several cases, such as in Hany Babu’s Thursday, courts have cited long incarceration to grant bail. They have also commented on poor evidence to substantiate terror charges
With former Delhi University professor Hany Babu granted bail by the Bombay High Court Thursday, only three of the 16 arrested by the Pune police and NIA in the Elgaar Parishad case remain behind bars.
Read more

Delhi University professor Hany Babu granted bail after 1,955 days in jail in Bhima Koregaon case [Read order]

04/12/2025 Asha

by Maktoob / @MaktoobMedia (Dec 4, 2025):

“I am happy but also angry and sad that an innocent professor (Dr. Hany Babu) was made to spend five years and four months in jail without even a trial, just for being socially conscious and working for the good of the university where he was employed,” said @jennyrowena , Delhi University professor and wife of Dr. Hany Babu, to Maktoob, reacting to the news that Babu was granted bail by the Bombay High Court after languishing in jail for nearly 2,000 days in the Bhima Koregaon case under UAPA charges.

After close to 2000 days in jail on a fabricated case concocted by the present BJP government, Professor Hany Babu will finally be released on bail that was granted by the Bombay HC.
SHAME on this govt and the judiciary for keeping him in jail for this long with NO TRIAL
Greeshma Kuthar
Independent journalist
Source: @jeegujja

Delhi University professor Hany Babu granted bail after 1,955 days in jail in Bhima Koregaon case

04/12/2025

Maktoob Media / by Maktoob Staff

The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to Delhi University professor and noted academic Dr. Hany Babu, who was arrested in 2020 in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case and charged under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), his partner and fellow academic Jenny Rowena told Maktoob.
A division bench of Justice AS Gadkari and Justice Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale granted him bail.
Read more

Bombay High Court grants bail to Bhima Koregaon accused Hany Babu after 5 years in jail [Read order]

04/12/2025

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

After 5 Yrs In Jail, Bombay High Court Grants Bail To Former DU Professor Hany Babu

04/12/2025

Live Law / by LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK

The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to former Delhi University Professor Hany Babu, who has been booked for his alleged role in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case.
A division bench of Justice AS Gadkari and Justice Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale granted him bail. A detailed order in the matter is awaited.
Read more

Hany Babu Gets Bail After Five Years and Four Months in Jail Without Trial

04/12/2025

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

Soon after the court granted him bail, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) which is handling the case sought a stay on the order to be able to appeal against it before the Supreme Court. The Bombay high court rejected it.
The Bombay high court today called the five-year-and-four-month-long incarceration without trial of Hany Babu an “inordinate delay” and granted bail to the Delhi university associate professor who had been arrested in the Elgar Parishad case.
The bail application moved early this year was kept for orders after the arguments were concluded on October 3. A division bench of Justices Ajey S Gadkari and Ranjitsinha R Bhonsale pronounced the verdict today, December 4.
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Hany Babu, accused in Elgaar Parishad case, gets relief after 5 years in prison without trial

04/12/2025

The Indian Express / by Omkar Gokhale

Hany Babu, accused in Elgaar Parishad case, has secured a bail from the Bombay High Court.
The Bombay High Court has granted bail to former Delhi University associate professor Hany Babu, accused in Elgaar Parishad case. Babu had sought bail on the ground of prolonged incarceration of over five years without trial.
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Academic Hany Babu’s bail hearing to take place after five years in jail without trial

04/12/2025

Pen International / by Ross Holder

Update (4 December 2025): The Bombay High Court has granted bail to Hany Babu, following his application on the basis of his prolonged detention without trial. Following the completion of formalities by the court, Hany Babu is expected to be released in the coming days. PEN International welcomes the court’s decision and celebrates Hany Babu’s release. He should never have been detained, and his subjection to over five years’ detention without trial remains an appalling injustice and is a dark chapter for India’s legal system.
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Also watch/read:
▪ Video: Hany Babu’s story
By MaktoobMedia

en | 10:57 | 2025
Watch video

▪ Bombay High Court Reserves Order On Bail Plea Of Former DU Professor Hany Babu (Free Press Journal / Oct 2025)
▪ Why Hany Babu Writes From Prison (The Wire / Jul 2025)
▪ SC Allows Hany Babu to Approach Trial or High Court For Bail (The Wire / Jul 2025)
▪ How Long is Too Long? On the Maximum Period that an Undertrial Prisoner can be Detained (Constitutional Law and Philosophy | by Hany Babu & Surendra Gadling | Oct 2024)
▪ Why the SC Judgment Granting Bail to Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira Is So Significant (The Wire / Jul 2023)

‘A permanent surveillance backdoor’: Why Sanchar Saathi app order raises privacy fears

03/12/2025 Asha

Scroll.in / by Ratna Singh

Digital rights groups warn that forcing an app onto every device could allow the government to spy on Indians and even control their devices.
… On social media, founder and editor of technology policy website Medianama, Nikhil Pahwa, illustrated just what this ability to control a user’s mobile phone would look like. “A government application can also be used to implant files on your device,” he said. “[It] has happened before, in the Bhima Koregaon case where documents were allegedly put on laptops and used to frame a conspiracy.”
Read more

Also read:
▪ ‘Malware Evidence in Their Own Reporting?’ Global Experts Reiterate Bhima Koregaon Reports, Seek End to Injustice (The Wire / Nov 2025)
▪ How an unsophisticated malware attack became India’s biggest state-sponsored cybercrime (The Polis Project / Mar 2025)
▪ Incriminating evidence planted in computers: The Trojan solved the Bhima Koregaon case! (Anchored Narratives / Jan 2023)
▪ Hackers Planted Files to Frame an Indian Priest Who Died in Custody (Wired / Dec 2022)
▪ Police Linked to Hacking Campaign to Frame Indian Activists (Wired.com / June 2022)
▪ Leaked Data Shows Surveillance Net in Elgar Parishad Case May Have Crossed a Line (The Wire / July 2021)
▪ They were Accused of plotting to overthrow the Modi government – The evidence was planted, a new report says (Washington Post / Feb 2021)

SC Questions 6-Year Delay in Surendra Gadling Case, Seeks Quick Decision on Key Bhima Koregaon Records

01/12/2025 Asha

2016 Gadchiroli Arson Case: SC Demands Improved Virtual Conferencing In Surendra Gadling’s Trial

02/12/2025

Free Press Journal / by FPJ News Service

The Supreme Court directed Maharashtra to ensure proper functioning of virtual conferencing during hearings in the 2016 Gadchiroli arson case after repeated technical failures. Hearing Surendra Gadling’s bail plea, the court urged expedited trial proceedings and re-listed the matter for January, addressing delays and pending applications in the case.
The Supreme Court, on Monday, told Maharashtra authorities to ensure that virtual conferencing facilities function properly during hearings in the 2016 Gadchiroli arson case, after Surendra Gadling’s counsel complained that the video conferencing (VC) system routinely fails when the lawyer-activist is produced before the trial court, reports legal portal livelaw.in.
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Ensure Proper VC Facilities In Trial Of 2016 Gadchiroli Arson Case : Supreme Court To Maharashtra

01/12/2025

Live Law / by Debby Jain

The Supreme Court on Monday told Maharashtra authorities to ensure that virtual conferencing facilities function properly during hearings in the 2016 Gadchiroli arson case, after Surendra Gadling’s counsel complained that the VC system routinely fails when the lawyer-activist is produced before the trial court.
The bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi was hearing Gadling’s bail plea. Gadling, who has spent 6 years and 10 months in custody, told the Court that he has been unfairly “branded” only because he appeared as counsel in certain Naxalite cases.
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Supreme Court Questions 6-Year Delay in Surendra Gadling Case, Seeks Quick Decision on Key Bhima Koregaon Records

01/12/2025

LawChakra / by Hardik Khandelwal

The Supreme Court raised concerns over Surendra Gadling’s six-and-a-half-year custody without trial, directing a quick decision on pending applications. Gadling argued prolonged delays, missing electronic evidence, and unequal treatment as other accused are already on bail.
The Supreme Court of India today heard the bail plea of Surendra Gadling, who is an accused in the Elgar Parishad–Maoist links case.
The matter, titled Surendra Pundalik Gadling v. State of Maharashtra (Crl.A. No. 3742/2023), came before a Bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Supreme Court gives Maharashtra final chance to file affidavit on Surendra Gadling’s plea in 2016 Surjagarh mine arson case (The Leaflet / Oct 2025)
▪ 2016 Surjagarh arson case: Advocate Gadling can appear in person to argue his discharge plea, says court (The Indian Express / Oct 2025)
▪ Elgar Parishad case: HC questions Gadling’s plea, says accused can’t choose probe agency (Hindustan Times / Sep 2025)
▪ Supreme Court Seeks Explanation on Delayed Trial in 2016 Arson Case (Devdiscourse / Sep 2025)
▪ 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)
▪ Surendra Gadling’s Computer Was Attacked, Incriminating Documents Planted: Arsenal Consulting (The Wire / July 2021)

Teltumbde makes his voice heard online / NIA court refuses Anand Teltumbde’s request to travel to literary festival

27/11/2025 Asha

Teltumbde barred from attending Hortus, makes his voice heard online

28/11/2025

Onmanorama / by Team Onmanorama

At the Manorama Hortus, the stage was set for two speakers, but only one chair was occupied. Writer S Anand sat alone, while the face of renowned scholar and activist Anand Teltumbde looked down from a large screen behind him.
“He is everywhere, but not here,” S Anand told the audience, explaining the “unfortunate turn of circumstances.”
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Out on bail in Bhima Koregaon case, academician Teltumbde’s request to attend lit fest rejected by court

27/11/2025

The Print / by Mayank Kumar

Mumbai court said invite to speak at Kochi festival was a ‘luxury’. The Dalit rights activist was set a pre-condition by Bombay HC in 2022 to take trial court’s nod for travel.
A Mumbai court has rejected the plea of academician Anand Teltumbde to attend a literature festival in Kochi organised by the media house, Malayala Manorama.
The court ruled that an invitation to speak at the festival was not an extreme circumstance that could fulfil the bail conditions imposed by the Bombay High Court in November 2022.
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NIA court refuses Teltumbde’s request to travel for Kochi literary festival

27/11/2025

Hindustan Times / by Vikrant Jha

Teltumbde was arrested by the NIA in April 2020 for alleged involvement in the Elgaar Parishad event in Pune on December 31, 2017, which investigators claim fuelled caste violence near the Bhima Koregaon war memorial the following day
A special court constituted under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday rejected a plea by scholar and human rights activist Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the 2018 Elgar Parishad–Bhima Koregaon case, seeking permission to travel to Kochi later this week for an academic engagement.
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Elgaar case accused’s plea rejected: Going to speak at literature event ‘sort of luxury’: Court to Teltumbde

27/11/2025

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

The court said that the Bombay High Court while granting bail to Teltumbde in November 2022 had imposed a condition with a specific intention, directing him not to go beyond local limits of the court.
Observing that travelling outside Mumbai to speak at a literature event for academic purposes is “sort of a luxury”, a special court Wednesday rejected permission to scholar Anand Teltumbde, booked in the Elgaar Parishad case, to travel to Kochi for two days.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Bombay HC refuses to allow Anand Teltumbde to travel abroad for lectures (Scroll.in / Oct 2025)
▪ Anti-terror agency seeks to seize Anand Teltumbde’s passport (India Today / Sep 2025)
▪ NIA opposes Anand Teltumbde’s plea to travel abroad, cites risk of absconding (The Hindu / April 2025)

‘Malware Evidence in Their Own Reporting?’ Global Experts Reiterate Bhima Koregaon Reports, Seek End to Injustice

26/11/2025 Asha

The Wire / by Mekhala Saran

Netherlands-based digital forensics expert Robert Jan Mora found “malware, not identified as such in the (RFSL) report, on an external pen drive that was seized from Mr. [Rona] Wilson”.
In 2022, when Netherlands-based digital forensics expert Robert Jan Mora was reviewing screenshots of Pune Police reports on some of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, he found something strange.
The Bhima Koregaon case has garnered international infamy for the prolonged persecution of 16 human rights defenders under terrorism-related charges, with individuals and organisations from across the world calling for the release of all accused.
Read more

Also read:
▪ How an unsophisticated malware attack became India’s biggest state-sponsored cybercrime (The Polis Project / Mar 2025)
▪ India: Damning new forensic investigation reveals repeated use of Pegasus spyware to target high-profile journalists (Amnesty.org / Dec 2023)
▪ Incriminating evidence planted in computers: The Trojan solved the Bhima Koregaon case! (Anchored Narratives / Jan 2023)
▪ Fabricating Evidence Against Life and Liberty: Tampering with Fr. Stan Swamy’s computer and its implications for Bhima Koregaon case (Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy / Dec 2022)
▪ Hackers Planted Files to Frame an Indian Priest Who Died in Custody (Wired / Dec 2022)
▪ Police Linked to Hacking Campaign to Frame Indian Activists (Wired.com / June 2022)
▪ Leaked Data Shows Surveillance Net in Elgar Parishad Case May Have Crossed a Line (The Wire / July 2021)
▪ Explainer: Arsenal Report on Surendra Gadling (The Leaflet / Jul 2021)
▪ They were Accused of plotting to overthrow the Modi government – The evidence was planted, a new report says (Washington Post / Feb 2021)
▪ Why the letter about a ‘Rajiv Gandhi-type’ assassination plot to kill Modi is fake (Dailyo.in │ by Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves │ Jun 11, 2018)

Welcome Comrade Jyoti Jagtap / In Jail For Over Five Years, Jyoti Jagtap Given Interim Bail by SC

22/11/2025 Asha

by Paras Nath Singh (Nov 24, 2025):

After more than five years of unjust incarceration as an undertrial in the Bhima Koregaon case, activist Jyoti Jagtap walked free from jail on interim bail.

by Anish (Nov 22, 2025):
Welcome Comrade Jyoti Jagtap.
Release All Political Prisoners !!

By Outlook India (Nov 22, 2025)

Activist Jyoti Jagtap being greeted by friends and relatives outside Byculla Jail after the Supreme Court granted her interim bail in the Bhima-Koregaon case, in Mumbai.

Elgar Parishad Case: In Jail For Over Five Years, Jyoti Jagtap Given Interim Bail by SC

19/11/2025

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

Cultural activist Jagtap, who is the only woman to still be behind bars in the case, was given interim bail until February 2026.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday (November 19) granted cultural activist Jyoti Jagtap interim bail in the Elgar Parishad case in which she has spent five years and six months in jail.
Her interim bail will continue until the next hearing, scheduled for February 2026. Her long-drawn struggle to secure regular bail has involved multiple petitions before various benches from the trial court up to the apex court.
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Supreme Court Grants Interim Bail To Jyoti Jagtap In Bhima Koregaon Case

19/11/2025

Live Law / by Gursimran Kaur Bakshi

The Supreme Court today (November 19) granted interim bail to activist and member of cultural organisation Kala Kabir Manch, Jyoti Jagtap, in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad matter till the next date of hearing, which is in February 2026.
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Supreme Court grants intrim bail to Bhima Koregaon accused Jyoti Jagtap

19/11/2025

Bar & Bench / by Debayan Roy

A Bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Satish Chandra Sharma passed the order after it was brought to their notice that Jagtap has been in custody for nearly 5.5 years.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted interim bail to Jyoti Jagtap, one of the accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon violence case.
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SC grants interim bail to Elgaar Parishad case accused Jyoti Jagtap

19/11/2025

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Jyoti Jagtap was the 15th person to be arrested in the Elgaar Parishad case. She was arrested in September 2020 by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, and handed over to NIA.
The Supreme Court Wednesday granted interim bail to Jyoti Jagtap, an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case who was arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967, for alleged links with banned Maoist outfits.
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Bhima Koregaon case: Activist Jyoti Jagtap gets interim bail from Supreme Court

19/11/2025

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The court was informed that the activist had been in custody for over five years.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted interim bail to activist Jyoti Jagtap, one of the 16 persons accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case, Bar and Bench reported.
Read more

Elgar Parishad Case: Supreme Court Grants Interim Bail to Jyoti Jagtap

19/11/2025

Outlook / by Priyanka Tupe

The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted interim bail to activist Jyoti Jagtap, who has spent over five years in jail in the Elgar Parishad case under UAPA.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted interim bail to activist Jyoti Jagtap, who was arrested in 2020 by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in the Elgar Parishad–Bhima Koregaon case for alleged Maoist links.
Read more

Also read:
▪ SC Grants Interim Bail To Mahesh Raut On Medical Grounds For Six Weeks, Jyoti Jagtap’s Bail Plea To Be Heard In October (The Commune / Sep 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)
▪ The Young Woman Who Would Not Cry (article 14 / Oct 2020)

Jyoti Jagtap. Credits: Kabir Kala Manch / facebook

‘The Cell and the Soul’: The mirror to Indian democracy in Anand Teltumbde’s prison memoir

22/11/2025 Asha

Scroll.in / by Ankush Pal

The memoir transforms personal suffering into a forensic examination of institutional decay.
Anand Teltumbde’s The Cell and the Soul: A Prison Memoir stands as one of the most searing indictments of contemporary Indian democracy, transforming personal suffering into a forensic examination of institutional decay.
Read more

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.

Book review | Inside the walls: Stories of suffering, survival and systemic injustice

22/11/2025 Asha

The Hans India / by Matam Somasekhar Prasad

Born in 1961, Sudha Bharadwaj chose a life of service and struggle over one of comfort and professional prestige. After returning to India with her mother, who later joined Delhi University’s Economics Department, she completed her postgraduate studies at IIT-Kanpur and briefly taught at Delhi Public School. Instead of pursuing an academic or corporate career, she committed herself to working among industrial workers and tribal communities in Chhattisgarh as a trade unionist for nearly three decades and a human-rights activist for two.
Read more

▪ From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada

Author: Sudha Bhardwaj
Publishing Date: Oct 2023
Publisher: Juggernaut
Pages: 216
Read more / order

Also read:
▪ The Cell and the Soul – A Prison Memoir

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

▪ Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism

Publishing Date: January 2021
Interview: Darshana Mitra and Santanu Chakraborty
Publisher: Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
Pages: 316
Access a free PDF copy of the book here

▪ The Feared – Conversations with Eleven Political Prisoners

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