The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Gujarat, organised an event in Ahmedabad entitled “Remembering Fr. Stan Swamy in Today’s Challenging Reality” in the memory of Fr. Stan Swamy on his third death anniversary. The event included a discussion of the new criminal laws enforced since July 1, 2024.
At the start of the event Fr. Cedric Prakash spoke about Fr. Stan Swamy, a fearless defender of tribal rights in Jharkhand, who was arrested by the NIA in 2018 in the context of the Bhima Koregaon case. Read more
At UN Human Rights Review, PEN International Questions Crackdown on Dissent in India
18/07/2024
The Wire / by The Wire Staff
The writers’ body cited a growing number of writers, journalists, academics and other critics of the government being subjected to legal harassment in the form of arbitrary arrests and prolonged detentions without trial.
…
The writers’ body mentioned the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) being used as a tool to “unjustly prosecute” the government’s critics. Citing the detention of those accused in the Bhima Koregaon/Elgar Parishad case, the report highlighted the ill treatment of professor Hany Babu and poet Varavara Rao, and denial of bail despite medical grounds. Read more Read PEN International’s full report here
‘28% rise in sedition cases’: Top global NGO alliance rates India’s civil space ‘repressed’
17/07/2024
Counterview / by Rajiv Shah
Rating India’s civic space as repressed, Civicus, a global civil society alliance, in its new report submitted to the UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) on the state of civic space in the country has said that the use of sedition law against the Modi government’s critics continues. “Under the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sedition cases have increased by 28 per cent with over 500 cases against more than 7,000 people”, it says. Read more
McCarthyism in INDIA?: The Return of The Urban Naxal Bogey!
17/07/2024
The Crossbill / by Subbhash Gatade
Does the ruling dispensation feels that since Naxals are seen as violent gangs who claim to work for people this bogey of Urban Naxal facilitates it to target anyone who refuses to play ball.
1. ‘India Will Awake to Police Raj’!
““I am reminded of Pandit Nehru ‘s speech “At the stroke of midnight India will awake to freedom.” At the stroke of midnight night 1st July 2024 India will awake to police raj,”
There are rare occasions when a simple tweet underlines the unfolding reality in stark terms.
… Any concerned citizen can look dispassionately at the Bhima Koregaon Case (12) or the way the accused in the NE Delhi riots have been languishing in jail – and are not even getting bail – and infer where things have reached. Read more
A New Bill Shows Maharashtra Wants to Become a Police State Before Combatting Left-Wing Extremism
15/07/2024
The Wire / by Ajay K. Mehra
The proposed legislation will authorise state police and other security agencies to arrest an accused person without warrant and by extension, without letting them know of their offence.
As soon as the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill, 2024, tabled in the state legislative assembly on July 11 this year, becomes a law, the state government will have another draconian legal instrument to use against protesters, dissenters, critics and opponents. Like other such laws, this one too has strict provisions making an individual’s arrest non-bailable.
Since the need for such a law is being justified on the grounds that the “menace of Naxalism is increasing in urban areas… through Naxal frontal organisations”, dissenters being framed up as ‘urban Naxals’ is imminent. Read more
Although the couple have a home in Delhi, 72-year-old Navlakha’s bail conditions prevent him from leaving Mumbai.
Ever since he was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the Elgaar Parishad case in May, Delhi-based journalist-activist Gautam Navlakha and his author-partner Sahba Husain have been struggling to rent a home in Mumbai. Read more
To mark six years of the arbitrary arrests and imprisonment of political dissidents in the Bhima Koregaon case, The Polis Project is publishing a series of writings by the BK-16, and their families, friends and partners. By describing various aspects of the past six years, the series offers a glimpse into the BK-16’s lives inside prison, as well as the struggles of their loved ones outside. Each piece in the series is complemented by Arun Ferreira’s striking and evocative artwork.
Credits: Drawing by Arun Ferreira / The Polis Project
THE POLIS PROJECT / by TATYARAM GORKHE AND SUREKHA GORKHE
We were at our village for Sagar’s grandmother’s funeral rites on the day of his arrest, in September 2020. Sagar received a call and had to leave for Mumbai immediately. He did not tell us what was going on. Later, we called his friends, who told us that he had been arrested. Like others, Sagar was offered the opportunity to become a state witness and escape arrest. But he didn’t take up the offer, insisting that he had not done anything wrong. Read more
Supreme Court Adjourns Jyoti Jagtap’s Plea To August 7
15/07/2024
Live Law / by Debby Jain
While adjourning to August 7 a plea filed by activist and Bhima Koregaon case accused Jyoti Jagtap challenging denial of regular bail by Bombay High Court, the Supreme Court today expressed that it was not inclined to grant interim bail to her.
The matter was before a bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Aravind Kumar, which was informed by Senior Advocate Mihir Desai (appearing for Jagtap) that the case was erroneously listed for interim bail. Read more
Supreme Court refuses to grant interim bail to jailed activist Jyoti Jagtap
15/07/2024
The Hindu / by pti
A Bench comprising justices M.M. Sundresh and Aravind Kumar also adjourned the hearing on the main bail plea of the activist. “We are not inclined to give interim bail”, Justice Subdresh said.
The Supreme Court on July 15 refused to grant interim bail to activist Jyoti Jagtap, who is in jail in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
A Bench comprising justices M.M. Sundresh and Aravind Kumar also adjourned the hearing on the main bail plea of the activist. Read more
In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court has held that a bail condition enabling police to monitor the movement of an accused out on bail through mobile phones is illegal and violative of Article 21 of the Constitution.
…
It remains to be seen whether this judgment of the Supreme Court will provide relief to the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad accused Shoma Sen, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, upon whom the judiciary has imposed similar bail conditions or whether this will be another case of a progressive Order in one case which is not followed by a similar Order in another case. Read more
Bail has been reduced to a judicial lottery with different judges and benches of the court taking inconsistent stances on similar issues.
…
On July 11, the Supreme Court castigated the Delhi High Court for staying a regular bail order in separate case for over a year when it has itself stayed the order granting bail to Dalit activist Mahesh Raut in the Bhima Koregaon case for more than nine months now. Read more
Casual and mechanical staying of bail Orders disastrous for human liberty, says SC
13/07/2024
The Leaflet / by The Leaflet
In a significant development, a Supreme Court Bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Augustine George Masih has said it will lay down parameters on the stay of bail-granting Orders.
…
The Supreme Court itself has been guilty of staying bail Orders without reason. For instance, Bhima Koregaon accused Gautam Navlakha was granted regular bail by the Bombay High Court Bench on December 19, 2023, after observing that it could not be said, based on the material produced by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), that there exist reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against Navlakha was prima facie true to attract Sections 16, 18, 20 and 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Read more
Ajaz Ashraf underscores how Bhima Koregaon riots, and the subsequent clampdown on leftist leaders, was sparked by various interpretations of Shivaji’s role and his stature in the Marathi consciousnes
…
A voice of defiance against the state The 200th anniversary of Bhima Koregaon was the happy hunting ground of many such pro-Maratha organisations, waiting to confront the various Dalit organisations. Bhima Koregaon is the place where, in January 1818, the British army comprising Mahar Dalit soldiers won the battle against Peshwa ruler Baji Rao II. Read more
▪ Bhima Koregaon: Challenging Caste. Brahminism’s wrath against dreamers of equality
Author: Ajaz Ashraf
Publisher: AuthorsUpFront
Publishing Date: June 2024
Binding: Paperback
Language: English
Pages: 496 Read more/order
▪ The Incarcerations: Bhima Koregaon And The Search For Democracy In India
Author: Alpa Shah
Publishing Date: March 2024
Publisher: Harper Collins Publisher
Pages: 672 Read more / order
To mark six years of the arbitrary arrests and imprisonment of political dissidents in the Bhima Koregaon case, The Polis Project is publishing a series of writings by the BK-16, and their families, friends and partners. By describing various aspects of the past six years, the series offers a glimpse into the BK-16’s lives inside prison, as well as the struggles of their loved ones outside. Each piece in the series is complemented by Arun Ferreira’s striking and evocative artwork.
Credits: Drawing by Arun Ferreira / The Polis Project
THE POLIS PROJECT / by MURALIDHAR SITARAM GAICHOR AND SUMAN GAICHOR
Since childhood, Ramesh liked helping people in need. He would play with the kids in the neighbourhood. He taught at a college and worked as a clerk at a local hospital. During his graduation, he helped his friends from Nowrosjee Wadia College, Pune, to win a trophy in a one-act play competition. Later, the college gave him free admission to masters without charging any fees. Read more
