The Indian Express / by T J S George
People are getting arrested as in the days of Indira Gandhi’s Emergency.
Freedom is a funny thing. When it is there, we don’t notice it. When it is not there, we don’t notice anything else. In a country as populous as India, half the people can take their freedom for granted without knowing that the other half is denied basic freedoms. This half-half reality is the defining feature of Narendra Modiji’s India.
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On 26th June “Movement Against UAPA and Other Repressive Laws (MURL)” conducted ONLINE NATIONAL CONVENTION demanding REPEAL OF ALL UNCONSTITUTIONAL REPRESSIVE LAWS
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The Times of India / by Swati Deshpande
A special court in Mumbai on Wednesday rejected applications made by few of the 2018 Elgar Parishad case accused for cloned copies of digital hard disc recovered by the investigating agency.
The special National Investigation Agency Judge court said it heard arguments advanced for and against grant of such clone copies and by a common order rejected five applications.
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Also read: In Bhima-Koregaon Case, More Damning Signs of Planted Evidence (article14, April 2021)
22/06/2021
Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim
The Bombay high Court on Tuesday directed the National Investigating Agency and State to file their replies in lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj’s plea seeking default bail on the grounds that the Pune judge was not authorized to take cognizance of the charge sheet filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against her, in 2019.
A division bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar passed the order on Bharadwaj’s plea under Sections 439 and 167 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
Advocate Sandesh Patil for the NIA sought time to reply to the contentions following which the respondents have been asked to filed their replies by July 2 and the matter is posted for hearing on July 3.
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22/06/2021
Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff
Bharadwaj argued that the judge who allowed Pune Police more time to file the chargesheet against her was not a special judge and hence cannot take cognisance.
The activist had moved the High Court for default bail on June 11. Bharadwaj sought bail on the grounds that the Pune Police did not file a chargesheet against her within 90 days, as required under Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The inquiry in the case was later taken over by the National Investigation Agency.
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11/06/2021
Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim
Lawyer-Activist Sudha Bharadwaj, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad case, has approached the Bombay High Court seeking default bail contending that the trial judge was not authorised to take cognisance of the 2019 charge sheet against her.
Her application under section 167 (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code cites RTI replies to demonstrate that the court of Additional Sessions Judge Kishor Vadane in Pune was not authorised to take cognisance of the 1,800-page supplementary charge sheet filed by the Pune Police in February 21, 2019.
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22/06/2021
The Caravan / by Nileena MS
As of 6 June this year, five of the 16 persons accused in the Bhima Koregaon case have spent over three years in jail without trial. These 16 individuals include lawyers, academics, a poet, a priest and activists. They are among scores of political prisoners in the country who have been arrested under the Narendra Modi government. Seven of the 16 have tested positive for COVID-19, and many of the others suffer from serious conditions, including comorbidities. Despite a rampaging second wave and increasing reports about worsening health conditions in jails, India appears intent on keeping its political prisoners behind bars.
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22/06/2021
The Hindu / by Sonam Saigal
Only 4,409 of 33,971 inmates have received at-least the first dose.
The vaccination drive across 47 prisons in Maharashtra has been rather slow with only 4,409 inmates having received at least the first dose out of the total 33,971 inmates, that it houses.
According to the Maharashtra Prison Department, there are 28,716 under-trials and 5,255 convicts lodged across the State of which 3,338 under-trials and 1,021 convicts have been vaccinated.
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Also read: Imprisoned and Unsafe – Prisoners and the Pandemic (PUCL, Sep 2020)
tnlabour.in / By Thozhilalar Koodam
After 3 long years, the five workers of Mumbai Electric Employees Union are out on bail. The State which arrested these workers under UAPA in the aftermath of Bhima Koregaon incident has not been able to prove any of its charges. These workers were guilty of one thing only, they were to organise contract workers against their mighty owner Reliance. As they could not be charged of these activities as treason, the State keeps finding flimsy charges to keep hundreds of activists and workers in jail under other pretexts.
While they still have a long way to go to clear the charges against them, their union Mumbai Elecrtic Employees Union has released the following pamphlet in solidarity with the arrested workers and to continue the struggles of exploited contract workers against their management. This pamphlet was translated in hindi, tamil and telugu and was distributed among workers.
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21/06/2021
The Leaflet / by Kavita Krishnan
The Delhi HC bail orders vindicate what pro-democracy activists have been saying since last year: The Delhi Police investigation is blatantly biased and has spun a fantastic conspiracy theory to falsely accuse anti-CAA protestors, especially those of the minority Muslim community, of the very “riots” that was planned and targeted against them making them the victims, says Kavita Krishnan.
…In the Bhima Koregaon case, and the Delhi riots case, as well as several cases involving unarmed protestors all over India, we have seen how the UAPA is used to criminalise protest and punish protestors.
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21/06/2021
The Leaflet / by Cedric Prakash
A regime that oppresses the weak and suppresses those who speak against it will always have to deal with more and more dissent. The key to peace and justice in India lies in following the Constitution, writes Cedric Prakash.
… From Aisha Sultana to Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita and Asif Iqbal Tanha. From Khori to Lakshadweep. From Tihar Jail to Taloja Jail. From Fr Stan Swami to Umar Khalid. From the Bhima-Koregaon sixteen to the other UAPA-incarcerated. From Sulabh to Siddique, from farmers to workers, from the unemployed to the refugees, from minorities to the marginalised, from the caregivers to the academics, from the toolkits to the brazen headlines, from rising costs to lack of vaccines—the cries for justice in India have never been so shrill and clear!
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hindi (english subtitles) | 5:36min | 2021
By Dalit Camera: Through Un-Touchable Eyes
Surekha Gorkhe, mother of political prisoner Sagar Gorkhe speaks to Rupali Jadhav about prison conditions during the pandemic. The lives of her son and other political prisoners are in grave danger, given the congested conditions of the jails. She appeals to everyone to raise the demand:
#FreeSagarGorkhe #FreeRameshGaichor #freejyotijagtap #ReleaseAllPoliticalPrisoners
en | 2h | 2021
Public Appeal Meeting with family members of #BhimaKoregaon 16, and legal and human rights experts.
By InSAF (June 19): 
19/06/2021
Free Press Journal / by Narsi Benwal
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday told the Bombay High Court bench of Justices Sambhaji Shinde and Nizamoodin Jamadar that there is sufficient material to prosecute arrested Jesuit Priest Stan Swamy under the UAPA law. The agency has said Swamy is an active member of banned outfit CPI (Maoist) and it could be established with his ‘Lal Johar’ aka ‘Lal Salaam’ salutations.
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17/06/2021
Live Law / by Srishti Ojha
The Bombay High Court on Thursday extended 84-year-old tribal rights activist from Ranchi Father Stan Swamy’s private hospital stay till July 5th after perusing his Medical report which stated that he continues to be critical and requires intensive care.
“As per detailed medical report, it is suffice to record that Medical Director has reported that he continues to be critical and requires intensive care. In view of aforesaid report, we deem it appropriate to extend the admission of the appellant in Holy Family Hospital Bandra in terms of orders passed by this court on May 28th 2021 till July 5th 2021. Appeal be listed on July 3rd.” the Bench noted.
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