Posts

Umar Khalid statement that he was invited to Elgar Parishad among additional evidence submitted by NIA

Umar Khalid statement that he was invited to Elgar Parishad among additional evidence submitted by NIA


Drawing by Arun Ferreira

Umar Khalid Claims He Was Invited To Elgar Parishad By Former Judge Of Bombay High Court

17/04/2022

Live Law / by Live Law News Network

The National Investigating Agency (NIA) submitted a bunch of additional documents and witness statements to the court in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad Case, in which student rights activist Umar Khalid claims that he heard that BJP-RSS persons had attacked visitors at the Bhima-Koregaon, near Pune.
On January 1, 2018 several Dalit’s had gathered to commemorate a 200th anniversary of the battle in which the British, with the support of Dalits, defeated the Peshwa army.
Read more

Former Bombay High Court judge Justice BG Kolse-Patil invited me to Elgar Parishad: Umar Khalid to NIA

15/04/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The statement by Khalid forms part of the additional documents which the central agency submitted to the Special NIA Court in Mumbai in the Bhima Koregaon riots case of 2018 allegedly linked to the Elgar Parishad event.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has recorded statement of former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student and member of Unite against Hate organisation Umar Khalid in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case of 2018 allegedly linked to the Elgar Parishad event of December 31, 2017.
Read more

Umar Khalid statement among additional evidence submitted by NIA to court

15/04/2022

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

In the evidence submitted to the court, the NIA has included the statement of Khalid, recorded in the office of the deputy superintendent of Tihar jail in New Delhi, where he is lodged in connection with the Delhi riots case.
Nearly two years since the last arrests were made in the Elgaar Parishad case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) last week submitted before the special court additional evidence running into seven volumes, including the statement of student activist Umar Khalid and documents related to Stan Swamy, the Jesuit priest who passed away last year while in judicial custody.
Read more

Heard of BJP-RSS attack day after being at Elgar Parishad, says Umar Khalid

15/04/2022

The Times of India / by Rebecca Samervel

Among the additional documents submitted as evidence against the accused in the Elgar Parishad case is the statement of former JNU student leader Umar Khalid, who said that a day after attending the Elgar Parishad meeting in Pune, where he delivered a speech, he came to know that BJP and RSS members attacked those who had come to visit Koregaon Bhima.
Read more

Reflecting on the most poignant moments of last two years during Anand’s incarceration

Reflecting on the most poignant moments of last two years during Anand’s incarceration

The Leaflet / by Rama Teltumbde Ambedkar

This is part of a special issue on Ambedkar Jayanti 2022.

Anand and I concealed our pain before each other, at least during those ten minutes, writes Rama Teltumbde Ambedkar on the weekly mulaqat with her husband.
Anand and I were married on November 19, 1983. Ours was a typical arranged marriage – arranged through a common, well-meaning friend.
I played the role of a homemaker for 37 years, raising my two daughters, looking after their needs and managing our home. It was my way of supporting Anand, who could then freely and entirely focus on his professional life and social causes that he was devoted to. 
Read more

Contemporary challenges before the anti-caste movement / Crises in ‘Ambedkarism’ That Merit Deeper Reflection

Contemporary challenges before the anti-caste movement / Crises in ‘Ambedkarism’ That Merit Deeper Reflection

From the vault: Contemporary challenges before the anti-caste movement

14/042022

The Leaflet / by Anand Teltumbde

This is a republication of Dr Teltumbde’s address at an event by The Leaflet on Ambedkar Jayanti in 2019, which we had originally published on April 23, 2019, in which, taking stock of Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s anti-caste legacy, he called the anti-caste movement in India dead and reflected on the larger issues being faced by Dalits that are being ignored by the State.
AT the outset, I would like to thank Indira Jaising and the entire team of the Lawyers Collective and The Leaflet for having me here to speak on the eve of the 128th birth anniversary of Babasaheb Ambedkar.
Read more

Finding Ambedkar: Crises in ‘Ambedkarism’ That Merit Deeper Reflection

14/04/2022

The Wire / by Deepanshu Mohan

Since Ambedkar’s passing, Ambedkarites have been leaving a mark in various arenas, from politics to academia to employees’ organisations and more. Yet, as Anand Teltumbde puts it, “Every Ambedkarite, whether they are conscious of it or not, experiences some crisis.”
… It is beyond the scope of this reflective essay to go into each crisis that Teltumbde discussed in his speech. Rather, I shall take the illustrative case of four of these crises points.
Read more

Also read:
● Dalit leaders condemn Anand Teltumbde’s arrest on 14 April—Ambedkar Jayanti (The Caravan │ April 2020)
● Crisis Of Ambedkarites And Future Challenges (Countercurrents │ by Anand Teltumbde │ April 2011)

Recounting the ordeal of famed undertrials inside Taloja prison

Recounting the ordeal of famed undertrials inside Taloja prison

The Telegraph / by Pheroze L. Vincent

Gautam Navlakha and Anand Teltumbde are among the 16 people arrested for their alleged involvement in the Elgaar Parishad-Maoist links case.
The road outside the jail is paved with little chits, “like snowflakes”.
Sahba Husain, the Delhi-based author, is recalling the indelible markers chiselled into her conscience while she waited last month outside Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai to meet her partner Gautam Navlakha face to face after two years.
Read more

PUDR: When The Process becomes The Punishment

PUDR: When The Process becomes The Punishment

Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) / by PUDR

Tomorrow, 14th April 2022 marks the completion of two years of PUDR activist Gautam Navlakha’s surrender before the NIA. One of sixteen accused in the infamous Bhima Koregaon case, Gautam has been imprisoned in Taloja Central Jail, Navi Mumbai since 25 May 2020.  For more than six months now, since 12 October 2021, the nearly 70 years old Gautam, an undertrial suffering from multiple health problems has been in solitary confinement in one of 33 cells in the ‘anda’ circle, the High Security Area of Taloja Jail, a space meant to segregate those guilty of heinous crimes.
Read more

Also read:
● How the ‘anda cell’ is used to discipline prison inmates (The Indian Express │ Oct 2021)
● System of solitary confinement, ‘Anda Cell’, inside the jail be stopped (Groundxero │ Oct 2021)

Bombay HC rejects Varavara Rao’s permanent bail plea; extends temporary bail

Bombay HC rejects Varavara Rao’s permanent bail plea; extends temporary bail

Bombay HC dismisses Varavara Rao’s plea seeking permanent bail, extends medical bail

13/04/2022

The Indian Express / by Express Web Desk

The court found said it some substance in contentions raised by the petitioner over conditions at Taloja central prison and said that it noted some deficiencies and passed directions in that regard.
The Bombay High Court Wednesday dismissed pleas filed by Elgaar Parishad accused Varavara Rao, who had sought permanent medical bail and permission to shift to Hyderabad in Telangana citing ill health and high expenses in Mumbai. However, the court extended the interim bail granted to Rao by three months to undergo cataract surgery.
Read more

Bombay High Court Extends Temporary Bail Of Varavara Rao By 3 Months On Medical Grounds; Refuses Permanent Bail

13/04/2022

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday refused to grant permanent medical bail to Telugu poet and Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad accused P Varavara Rao. It however extended the period of temporary bail by three months for his cataract operation and issued directions to expedite the trial. The Court has also refused him permission to reside at his home in Telangana.
Read more

Bombay HC rejects plea by Varavara Rao for permanent bail; extends temporary bail for 3 months

13/04/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

A bench of SB Shukre and GA Sanap also rejected the application by Rao to stay in Telangana during the duration of bail.
“The present petition seeking permanent bail is dismissed. Plea seeking modification of bail to go to Telangana is dismissed,” the Court said.
The Court, however, extended for three more months an earlier order granting him temporary bail.
Read more

Hany Babu approached Bombay High Court seeking regular bail

Hany Babu approached Bombay High Court seeking regular bail


by Bar & Bench (April 13):
Bhima Koregaon accused Hany Babu has approached #BombayHighCourt seeking regular bail after it was rejected by the Mumbai #NIA Court.

No bail; ‘prima facie evidence Hany Babu part of Maoist outfit’: NIA Court

22/02/2022

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

“The same can be said to be sufficient to prima facie establish that the applicant was instrumental for the release of convict G N Saibaba, who was convicted for the activities of the CPI (M),” special Judge Dinesh E Kothalikar said in the detailed order made available on Monday.
IN ITS detailed order rejecting bail to Delhi University associate professor Hany Babu, a special court has said that there is prima facie evidence that he was ‘actively involved’ in activities of banned organisation, CPI (Maoist).
Read more

US Departments 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: India

US Departments 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: India

US Department’s 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: India

13/04/2022

US Department of State / by Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

… Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: unlawful and arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings by the government or its agents; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by police and prison officials; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest and detention by government authorities; political prisoners or detainees; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; restrictions on free expression and media, including violence, threats of violence, or unjustified arrests or prosecutions against journalists …
Read more

US government report says Indian Muslims are vulnerable to communal violence, discrimination

13/04/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The report also flagged extrajudicial killings and arbitrary arrests and detentions by government authorities.
… The report specifically mentioned the treatment meted out to 84-year-old Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest who was arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case. The case pertains to caste violence in a village near Pune in 2018. Sixteen people were arrested for allegedly plotting the violence.
Read more

Protest for release of activists

Protest for release of activists

Left groups protest across Punjab, seek to revive spirit of Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom

17/04/2022

Counterview / by Harsh Thakor

Despite political change of guards, which brought Aam Aadmi Party to power, recent events suggest that Left-wing forces of different shades appear to be steadily gaining ground in Punjab.
… Held on April 8 in Singrur on the very day Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru flung a bomb in the parliament house to symbolise liberation from colonial slavery, the Kirti Kisan Union, Punjab Students Union, Naujwan Bharat Sabha and Zameen Prapti Sangharsh demanded unconditional release of political prisoners. Speakers summarised how activists like Gautam Navlakha , GN Saibaba, Rona Wilson, Anand Teltumbde, Varavara Rao, Umar Khalid, Sudha Bharadwaj, Devinder Ghullar etc. were branded for waging a conspiracy against the state as they were posing a question to the autocratic character of the rulers or confronting fascism.
Read more

Protest for release of activists

09/04/2022

Times of India / by TNN

The farmer and student organisations protested in Faridkot on Friday for the release of those who have completed their sentences and of activists who have been arrested on flimsy grounds. Activists of Kirti Kisan Union, Naujwan Bharat Sabha and Punjab Students Union raised slogans for the release of Prof GN Saibaba, Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha, Umar Khalid, Devinderpal Singh Bhullar and others.
Read more

Left leaders protest, seek release of political prisoners

08/04/2022

Tribune of India / by Tribune News Service

Members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) New Democracy on Friday held a protest against the non-release of Sikh prisoners who had completed their sentences and imprisonment of political prisoners, intellectuals, writers, journalists and activists in false cases.
Read more

Hearing of Anand Teltumbde’s appeal seeking bail on merits adjourned to April 26

Hearing of Anand Teltumbde’s appeal seeking bail on merits adjourned to April 26

Hearing of Anand Teltumbde’s appeal seeking bail on merits

by Live Law (April 11):
#BombayHighCourt will continue to hear Dalit scholar – #AnandTeltumbde’splea seeking bail on merits in the #BhimaKoregaon – Elgar Parishad caste violence case. Hearing before bench of Justices Sunil Shukre and GA Sanap.

+++ Adjourned to April 26. +++

by Live Law (April 7)

#BombayHighCourt will continue to hear Dalit scholar #AnandTeltumbde’s appeal seeking bail on merits in Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad caste violence case. Hearing before the bench of Justices Sunil Shukre and GA Sanap
Matter called out.
…
Adjourned to Monday for further arguments.

Full thread

Bombay HC to hear Anand Teltumbde’s appeal challenging rejection of bail on April 7

31/03/2022

The Leaflet / by Sabah Gurmat

On Thursday, the Bombay High Court’s division bench of Justices S.B. Shukre and G.A. Sanap decided to post the matter of Bhima Koregaon (Elgar Parishad) accused Anand Teltumbde’s plea challenging his rejection of bail, to April 7. The 71-year old Teltumbde is an academic and activist who has been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act [UAPA], and the High Court had been hearing his bail plea as well as a petition challenging the conditions for bail under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA.
Read more