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Special NIA Court Rejects Interim Bail Pleas Of Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha

Special NIA Court Rejects Interim Bail Pleas Of Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha

Special NIA Court Rejects Interim Bail Pleas Of Anand Teltumbde and Gautam Navlakha

24/08/2021

Live Law / by Live Law News Network

The Special NIA Court has rejected temporary bail pleas of professor Anand Teltumbde and journalist Gautam Navlakha, accused in the Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad caste violence Case.
In their applications sent directly from prison, the two sought to be released temporarily citing their age and vulnerability to Covid-19. The pleas were filed pursuant to directions from the jail administration asking all inmates above 60 years to apply for interim bail due to the pandemic.
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NIA Court refuses temporary bail to activist Gautam Navlakha

23/08/2021

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

Navlakha had sought temporary bail relying upon the guidelines issued by the High Power Committee for decongestion of prisons in light of the COVID pandemic.
The Special Court under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act has refused temporary bail to Bhima Koregaon accused Gautam Navlakha.
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Accused activists seek default bail claiming sessions court had no jurisdiction

23/08/2021

Midday / by pti

The petitioners are Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Vernon Gonsalves, and Arun Ferreira
Seven activists and academics accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case told the Bombay High Court, the Pune sessions court, which remanded them to custody following their arrest and also took cognisance of the police’s chargesheet in 2019, had no jurisdiction to do so and sought a default bail.
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Newswire’s special issue dedicated to Father Stan Swamy / AILAJ’s August issue

Newswire’s special issue dedicated to Father Stan Swamy / AILAJ’s August issue

Newswire – A special issue dedicated to Father Stan Swamy

22/08/2021

By India Civil Watch

Here’s what you will find inside Newswire 9
1. Spotlight: South Asian Dalit Adivasi Network (SADAN), Canada
2. Vidya Bhushan Rawat, Interview with Rana Khan
3. The Compassionate Revolution of Saint Stan Swamy (1937 – 2021), Shaj Mohan and Divya Dwivedi
4. Under the Mango tree, Madhumita Dutta
5. Stan Swamy in the eyes of a Thirteen Year old, Ananya Mamatha Anil
6. This Month in History, Balmurli Natarajan
7. Poetry!
Download here

AILAJ’s August issue

19/08/2021

By All India Lawyers´Association for Justice (A)

AILAJ’s August issue is out! It has pieces on Pegasus, UAPA, Father Stan Swamy and the plight of prisoners in light of the pandemic. It also contains all the representations AILAJ has made to various judicial and state functionaries.

Download here

Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry postpones hearings in Mumbai

Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry postpones hearings in Mumbai

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

The Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry has postponed its hearings in Mumbai, earlier scheduled to be held between August 23 and August 25, due to the unavailability of a large place to enforce Covid-19 protocols.
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Also read: Casting a Veil – What we miss by ignoring Maratha caste politics in the Bhima Koregaon case (The Caravan, Dec 2020)

India Must Stop Criminalising the Defence of Human Rights: UN Special Rapporteur

India Must Stop Criminalising the Defence of Human Rights: UN Special Rapporteur


Drawing by Arun Ferreira

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

Mary Lawlor speaks to The Wire about the situation of human rights defenders in the country, the use of repressive laws by the government and more.
On May 1, 2020, Mary Lawlor, a Dublin-based human rights expert with over four decades of experience engaging in human rights work, took up the mandate of Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders (HRDs) at the United Nations. Along with her work globally, Lawlor has been closely following the deteriorating human rights conditions in India and feels the country has repeatedly failed to protect the rights and interests of HRDs in the country.
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Also read: Pegasus Reports Highlight Need for Better Regulation of Spyware: UN Rights Chief (The Wire, Aug 20)

Opposition to Hold Joint Protests across India against Modi Govt from September 20 to 30

Opposition to Hold Joint Protests across India against Modi Govt from September 20 to 30

The Wire / by pti

The Opposition’s demands include an SC-monitored probe into the Pegasus issue and a high-level probe into the Rafale fighter jets deal, a repeal of three farm laws and early polls in J&K.
The leaders of 19 Opposition parties announced on Friday that they will organise joint protests and demonstrations across the country from September 20 to 30, even as they urged people to save India for a better tomorrow.
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Their full statement

…
10. Release all political prisoners, including those under draconian UAPA in Bhima Koregaon case and anti-CAA protests.

Click to enlarge

Sudha Bharadwaj, Gautam Navlakha move Bombay HC for clone copies of devices seized

Sudha Bharadwaj, Gautam Navlakha move Bombay HC for clone copies of devices seized

Sudha Bharadwaj, Gautam Navlakha move Bombay HC for clone copies of devices seized

20/08/2021

Bar and Bench / by Neha Joshi

The accused moved the High court challenging an order of the Special NIA Court refusing their application for cloned copies of the data seized by the NIA.
Bhima Koregaon accused Sudha Bharadwaj and Gautam Navlakha have approached the Bombay High Court seeking clone copies of all devices seized from them by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
NIA had submitted draft charges and the special court has kept the matter for framing of charges on August 23, 2021.
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Accused Approach Bombay HC To Stay Trial Till Clone Copies of Electronic Evidence Is Provided

20/08/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

Accused in the Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad Case have approached the Bombay High Court to stay the trial or defer the framing of charges until clone copies of all the electronic devices seized are provided to the defence.
Accused Sudha Bharadwaj and journalist Gautam Navalakha have sought HC’s indulgence after the National Investigation Agency submitted the draft charges before the Special NIA Court against the 15 accused on August 9.
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Father Stan Swamy Has Right To Have His Name Cleared: Jesuits Approach Bombay High Court

Father Stan Swamy Has Right To Have His Name Cleared: Jesuits Approach Bombay High Court

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The petitioners state that the Special NIA Court’s observations while refusing bail to Stan Swamy amount to preliminary findings of guilt, which the High Court can set aside.
Late tribal-rights activist Father Stan Swamy’s counsel and kin have urged the Bombay High Court to clear the odium attached to his name and reputation due to his arrest in the Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad caste violence case.
“Article 21 (Right to dignity) of the Constitution equally applies to deceased persons and just as the Appellant(Father Swamy) would have had a right o clear his name if he were alive, similarly those closest to him would have a similar right to clear his name,” Senior counsel Advocate Mihir Desai said on behalf of the Jamshedpur Jesuit Province, which is seeking to pursue Stan Swamy’s case as his next of kin.
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Father of Rona Wilson, activist jailed in Elgar Parishad case, passes away

Father of Rona Wilson, activist jailed in Elgar Parishad case, passes away

Father of Rona Wilson, activist jailed in Elgar Parishad case, passes away

19/08/2021

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Wilson had last met him in April 2018 when he had visited Kerala. His lawyers will be approaching the court seeking temporary bail so that he can travel to his home for the final rites.
Father of jailed activist Rona Wilson, who was arrested in 2018 over his alleged involvement in the Elgar Parishad case, passed away on Wednesday at his residence in Alappuzha. He was 84.
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Jailed activist Rona Wilson’s father passes away

19/08/2021

Sabrang India / by Adeeti Singh

Jacob Wilson, father of Rona Wilson, breathed his last on August 18, in the absence of his son who is imprisoned in the Bhima Koregaon violence case since 2018. He was reportedly not keeping well, but refused hospitalisation.
Many other accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon case have experienced similar loss and grief.
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Also read:
▪ In Bhima-Koregaon Case, More Damning Signs of Planted Evidence. A new report from a US-based digital forensics company has said a hacker planted 22 “incriminating” files in activist Rona Wilson’s computer. (article 14, April 2021)
▪ From the Other Side of the Bars – Rona Wilson’s quiet commitment to prisoners’ rights (The Caravan, March 2019)