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Making legal aid effective for women prisoners / Sudha Bhardwaj on the time spent with women in prison

Making legal aid effective for women prisoners / Sudha Bhardwaj on the time spent with women in prison

Making legal aid effective for women prisoners

08/03/2022

The Leaflet / by Sudha Bharadwaj

If we are to do any justice to the Constitutional mandate of equality before law, and the right to legal representation, we must put in place a mechanism to provide competent and effective legal aid to all those who cannot afford it, particularly to those languishing in jail.
was in Byculla Jail, Mumbai, between February 2020 and December 2021. Prior to that, in Yerwada Jail, where I was lodged between November 2018 to February 2020, I had given an application to be permitted to help with legal aid, but that was refused, possibly since I and my co-accused Professor Shoma Sen, were lodged in separate cells in the Phansi Yard.
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Lawyer activist Sudha Bhardwaj on the time spent with women in prison

08/03/2022

National Herald / by Sudha Bharadwaj

Legal aid is a right guaranteed by the Constitution but it is virtually nonexistent and ineffective, recalls the lawyer-activist, who spent three years in jail as an accused in the Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case. Many inmates cannot follow the language and are not even aware of the name of their lawyer despite having signed the Vakalatnama. The judiciary needs to take a good, hard look at those who are in ‘judicial custody’.
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Also read:
● Sudha Bhardwaj and Shoma Sen extend solidarity to Women’s March from jail (Sabrang / March 2019)

The Security Playbook Used To Erode Democracy In Modi’s India & How The Tide Might Turn

The Security Playbook Used To Erode Democracy In Modi’s India & How The Tide Might Turn

article 14 / by Shamik Bag

By using security laws, deploying surveillance technology, and leveraging potent national interest narratives, Narendra Modi’s Hindu-first government has targeted critics and eroded the rule of law in India—often in violation of the Constitution, using legal loopholes and grey areas. Through the lens of the notorious Bhima Koregaon case, we investigate these tactics in-depth, and report how citizens are fighting to preserve the world’s largest democracy.
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High Court seeks assistance of Attorney General in Teltumbde’s UAPA challenge

High Court seeks assistance of Attorney General in Teltumbde’s UAPA challenge

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The plea filed by accused Anand Teltumbde has challenged the provisions under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act pertaining to bail and misuse of the term “front organisation” by NIA.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday sought the assistance of Attorney General for India KK Venugopal in a plea filed by Bhima Koregaon accused Anand Teltumbde challenging provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
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Bombay High Court permits Anand Teltumbde to meet mother after brother’s death

Bombay High Court permits Anand Teltumbde to meet mother after brother’s death

Bombay High Court Allows Anand Teltumbde To Visit Nonagenarian Mother For 2 Days

02/03/2022

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

Three months after his brother’s demise in an encounter, the Bombay High Court permitted Dalit scholar Anand Teltumbde to meet his nonagenarian mother in Chandrapur on March 8 and 9, 2022 under escort protection.
An undertrial in the Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad Case, Teltumbde had sought direction for interim bail from the High Court after the Special NIA Court refused his request on technical grounds. Teltumbde’s brother, Milind, was killed in an encounter in November 2021.
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Bombay High Court permits Anand Teltumbde to meet mother after brother’s death

02/03/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

“Death is a death. He may be an accused, he may have been involved in (illegal) activities … but then ultimately he was present applicant’s brother. There has been a loss of human life,” the Court said.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday permitted Anand Teltumbde, one of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence case, to visit his mother in Chandrapur, Maharashtra from March 8 to 10 after his brother and wanted accused, Milind Teltumbde’s death.
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Also read:
● Bombay High Court seeks assistance of Attorney General KK Venugopal in Anand Teltumbde’s UAPA challenge (Bar & Bench / March 2022)

Modi government’s actions against the Christian minority reveal a deep malaise within our society

Modi government’s actions against the Christian minority reveal a deep malaise within our society

Scroll.in / by Peter Ronald deSouza, The India Forum

Making Christmas Good Governance Day, harassing the Missionaries of Charity and Stan Swamy’s death in custody all go against the idea of decency.
The spate of attacks on churches in some states of India, even during the Christmas season of 2021, is not as disturbing to me as five other actions taken by the current political dispensation…The first is the incarceration and subsequent death of Stan Swamy, while still under custody as an undertrial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
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Interim protection for Varavara Rao extended til March 8 / Why was bail granted only for 6 months?

Interim protection for Varavara Rao extended til March 8 / Why was bail granted only for 6 months?

Why was bail granted to Varavara Rao only for 6 months? Bombay High Court

03/03/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The High Court noted that the February 2021 order granting temporary medical bail to Rao contained strong observations about the inadequate medical facilities at Taloja Jail.
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday mused as to why Varavara Rao, accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, was only granted 6 months of bail despite its strong observations regarding medical conditions at Taloja prison [P Varavara Rao v. State of Maharashtra & Anr].
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Varavara Rao’s medical bail extended till March 8

02/03/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The Bombay High Court also asked if the condition of Taloja jail, where Rao will be sent, has improved.
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday extended the duration of activist Varavara Rao’s medical bail till March 8, reported PTI.
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Interim protection for Varavara Rao extended until March 8

01/03/2022

The Leaflet / by Sabah Gurmat

On Tuesday, the Bombay High Court heard a plea filed by poet and activist P. Varavara Rao – an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case – seeking extension of his interim bail and for being allowed to stay in Hyderabad while on bail. The division bench of Justices S.B. Shukre and G.A. Sanap decided to continue the hearing of arguments on March 8 and has granted interim protection from coercive action to Rao until then.
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Also read:
● Telugu, Wheelchair & Blanket: How Prison Broke Poet Varavara Rao (The Quint / Feb 2021)
● Varavara Rao’s Bail: Leading Newspapers Urge Courts to Protect the Fundamental Right to Liberty (The Leaflet / Feb 2021)

India retains ‘partially free’ status for second year in Freedom House’s 2022 report

India retains ‘partially free’ status for second year in Freedom House’s 2022 report

India retains ‘partially free’ status for second year in Freedom House’s 2022 report

04/03/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The report from the US-based NGO attributed BJP government’s ‘discriminatory policies’ and persecution of Muslims for India’s standing in the report.
India was called a “partially free” country for the second year in a row in the 2022 report by the United States non-governmental organisation, Freedom House. India’s was 66th on the “Freedom of the World” rankings – a notch higher from last year’s 67.
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For the second consecutive year, India drops on freedom score

01/03/2022

The Hindu / by Parvathi Benu

The main pointers for the lower rankings include – politicians and journalists surveillance, activist Stan Swamy’s death, and the Lakshmipur Kheri incidents. 
India, for the second consecutive year, continues to not completely free country, according to the findings in the Freedom of the World report.
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Read full report: Freeedom in The World 2022: The Global Expansion of Authoritarian Rule

Sudha Bharadwaj seeks court’s permission to shift back to Mumbai

Sudha Bharadwaj seeks court’s permission to shift back to Mumbai

TOI / by pti

Sudha Bharadwaj, recently released on bail in the Elgar Parishad-Maoists links case, on Tuesday filed an application before a court seeking permission to live in suburban Mumbai.
Bharadwaj was granted bail by the Bombay high court in December 2021. The special court for National Investigation Agency (NIA) cases, while passing the release order, had directed that she shall not leave Mumbai without permission.
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● Sudha Bharadwaj interview: ‘I hope I can begin practising in Mumbai’ (The Indian Express │ Feb 2022)
● ‘I Am Ready To Put On My Black Coat’: Lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, Out On Bail After 3 Years In Jail (article 14 │ Jan 2022)
● Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism. (PUCL │ Jan 2021 │ 316 pages)

Bail of Varavara Rao extended till March 3

Bail of Varavara Rao extended till March 3

Bail of Varavara Rao extended till March 3

26/02/2022

The Leaflet / by PTI

The Bombay High Court on Saturday extended till March 3 the medical bail granted to poet and activist P. Varavara Rao, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
Rao, 82, was first granted bail on health grounds by the high court in February last year for a period of six months. He was also asked not to leave Mumbai.
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Bombay High Court extends Varavara Rao’s medical bail till March 3

26/02/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The activist’s lawyer said he is suffering from various ailments, including asymptomatic Parkinson’s disease.
Rao, 82, was granted bail on medical grounds in February last year. The court has been granting extensions on the bail order since September.
In a fresh application on Saturday Rao’s lawyers sought another extension.
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Bhima Koregaon Inquiry: Police evasive when questioned about its failure to prevent violence

Bhima Koregaon Inquiry: Police evasive when questioned about its failure to prevent violence

Bhima Koregaon Inquiry Commission: Police evasive when questioned about its failure to prevent violence

26/02/2022

Sabrang India / by Sabah Gurmat

The ongoing proceedings before the Bhima Koregaon Inquiry Commission took an interesting turn on Friday with the police giving evasive replies to the counsel, who posed probing questions on its role during the days leading to the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon (when the British aided by Mahar soldiers defeated the Peshwas) on January 1, 2018, which ended in violence, and subsequent arrests of activists.
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IPS officer Nangare Patil files affidavit on ‘security threat’ to ‘Jaystambh’ in- charge’s house, bandobast preparation

26/02/2022

The Indian Express / by Chandan Haygunde

The current joint commissioner (law and order) of Mumbai Police, Nangare Patil, was the special inspector general of police, Kolhapur Range, at the time of the violence in Koregaon Bhima area (in the jurisdiction of Pune Rural Police), which was under his supervision.
IPS OFFICER Vishwas Nangare Patil submitted his affidavit before the Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry in Mumbai on Friday.
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Also read:
● Let’s Remember the Lesson of Bhima Koregaon: Down with the New Peshwai (Sanhati│by Sudhir Dhawale│March 2018)