A special court in Mumbai has directed Taloja Central Prison authorities to allow two of the accused in the Elgaar Parishad case, lawyers Surendra Gadling and Arun Ferreira who represent themselves, to use computers twice a week and provide the necessary software to view documents submitted by NIA. Read more
Bhima Koregaon Case Accused Cite Anand Teltumbde Order To Seek Bail; Supreme Court To Hear On Jan 30
16/01/2023
Live Law / by Awstika Das
“We are in 2023 now and still, charges have not yet been filed,” Senior Advocate Rebecca John told the Supreme Court on Monday, while appearing for activist and Bhima Koregaon accused Vernon Gonsalves, who has been lodged in jail since August 2018 for charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. A division bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia was hearing the bail applications of Gonsalves and a co-accused, Arun Ferreira… Indicating that they would like to hear the arguments at length, the bench decided to post the matter on a ‘non-miscellaneous’ day in the week starting on January 30. Read more
Supreme Court division bench led by Justice Aniruddha Bose to hear bail pleas of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira
16/01/2023
The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala
The matter is posted for hearing on January 30.
On Monday, a division bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia decided to proceed with the hearing of bail pleas of civil liberties activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira after Justice Dipankar Datta recused himself from hearing the matter on January 12. Gonsalves and Ferreira have filed the bail application in the Supreme Court challenging the rejection of their default bail applications by the Bombay High court. Read more
Justice Dipankar Datta recuses himself from hearing bail pleas of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira
12/01/2023
The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala
The matter will now be taken up next week by a bench that does not comprise Justice Datta.
Thursday, Justice Dipankar Datta recused himself from hearing the bail pleas of civil liberties activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira. The matter will now be taken up by a bench that Justice Dutta is not a part of.
… A Supreme Court division bench, comprising Justices Ravindra Bhatt and Datta, was hearing petitions filed by Gonsalves and Ferreira, challenging the rejection of their bail applications by the Bombay High Court. Read more
SC judge Dipankar Datta recuses himself from hearing bail pleas of Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira
13/01/2023
Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff
Justice Dipankar Datta of the Supreme Court on Thursday recused himself from hearing bail applications of activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in the Bhima Koregaon case, Live Law reported.
… Gonsalves and Ferreira have filed petitions in the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court decision to deny them default bail in the case. The court had held that Gonsalves and Ferreira did not apply for the bail on time. Read more
The Supreme Court on Friday posted the bail application of academician Vernon Gonsalves, accused in the Elgar Parishad case, for hearing in the second week of January.
The Bench led by Justice Ravindra Bhat ruled that it will take up the bail petition of Gonsalves along with the bail plea of Activist Arun Ferreira, also an accused in the Elgar Parishad Maoist link case. Read more
Bhima Koregaon Accused (BK16) | 1 Dead, 1 on House Arrest, 3 on Bail: What of the Rest?
The remaining 11 continue to languish in jail — Who are they and what is the status of the case against them?
Anti-caste writer Anand Teltumbde, who walked out of jail on Saturday, 26 November, after he was granted bail on merits in connection with the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case said:
“I am definitely happy. It has been 30 months that I have been in prison. The sad part, however, is that we had to spend time in jail after being booked in a fake case.”
In the same case, two others, poet Varavara Rao and lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj – were granted bail earlier due to different reasons, while academic Gautam Navlakha was allowed house arrest on health grounds by a 19 November Supreme Court order. Read more
Citing the Supreme Court direction to decide on framing of charges and discharge pleas of the accused within three months, the court also said it will begin hearing the discharge applications of four accused from next week.
The special court hearing the Elgaar Parishad case directed an officer of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to remain present before it for a report on the pending issue of providing cloned copies of electronic devices to all the accused. Read more
Special Court Rejects Arun Ferreira’s Plea For Copy Orders Authorising Email Interception By NIA
Special Court Rejects Arun Ferreira’s Plea For Copy Orders Authorising Email Interception By NIA
23/08/2022
Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim
A special NIA has rejected the application filed by lawyer Arun Ferreira, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case, alleging that NIA illegally intercepted emails exchanged between him and co-accused Rona Wilson and used it as evidence. Ferreira had sought a copy of the order permitting the agency to intercept their emails.
The court however allowed accused lawyer Surendra Gadling’s plea against the obstruction by prison officials from receiving letters and personal communications sent by his wife and advocates to him at the prison. Read more
Special court rejects Arun Ferreira’s plea against NIA
23/08/2022
Free Press Journal / by Staff Reporter
A special court on Monday rejected an application by lawyer and accused in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgaar Parishad case, Arun Ferreira, in which he had claimed illegal interception by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of some emails, which it later used as evidence…
In a separate development, the court directed the Taloja prison authorities to hand over to lawyer and Ferreira’s co-accused Surendra Gadling his letters from his wife, which he complained were held back by it. Read more
Plea of Elgaar Parishad accused for ‘order authorising email interception’ rejected
23/08/2022
The Indian Express / by Express News Service
A special court rejected Arun Ferreira application after the NIA denied any illegal interception and said the emails were accessed using a password found on a device seized from Rona Wilson, another accused.
After the NIA denied Elgaar Parishad case accused Arun Ferreira’s allegation that some emails it had relied on as evidence had been illegally intercepted, a special court on Monday rejected his application for the investigative agency to provide “the competent authority’s order issued for intercepting emails”. Read more
Of 16 Arrested Accused in Elgar Parishad Case, One Dead, Two Out on Bail and Rest in Jail
19/08/2022
The Wire / by pti
With the Supreme Court stipulating that charges in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case be framed within the next three months, the focus has shifted now to the status of the accused.
With the Supreme Court stipulating that charges in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case be framed within the next three months, the focus has shifted now to the status of the accused.
In the case that is being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), of the total 16 arrested accused, Jesuit priest Stan Swamy died at a private hospital here last year during judicial custody, while Telugu poet Varavara Rao is currently out on medical bail. Only one accused – Sudha Bharadwaj – is out on regular bail. Read more
Arun Ferreira Approaches Bombay High Court For Default Bail
19/08/2022
Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim
Activist Arun Ferreira, an accused in Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad case, has approached the Bombay High Court seeking default bail.
Ferreira’s plea was listed before a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Sharmila Deshmukh on Friday, however, Justice Dere has already recused from hearing any matters in the case.
In the criminal appeal under section 21(4) of the NIA Act, Ferreira claims that his position is at par with co-accused Sudha Bharadwaj who was granted default bail by the High Court in December last year, while he and eight of his co-accused were denied the relief. Read more
Arun Ferreira Moves Bombay High Court seeking default bail; Justice Revati Mohite Dere recuses
19/08/2022
Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi
The accused in the 2018 riots case has sought an order from the High Court on the same grounds used by the court in the order granting default bail to co-accused Sudha Bharadwaj in December 2021.
The petition was listed before Bench led by Justice Revati Mohite Dere who recused from hearing the matter on Friday, without assigning any reason. The appeal will now be heard by another Bench. Read more
Arun Ferreira seeks default bail, judge recuses from hearing case
19/08/2022
Free Press Journal / by Staff Reporter
Arun Ferreira, one of the accused in the Elgar Parishad case, has sought default bail on parity with co-accused Sudha Bharadwaj in the case. Bhardwaj was granted default bail by the Bombay High Court on December 1, 2021.
On Friday, Ferreira’s petition came up for hearing before a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Sharmila Deshmukh. However, Justice Dere recused herself from hearing the plea without assigning any reason. Read more
Lyrics by Shahir Sagar Gorkhe, sung by Adv Surendra Gadling Watch video
PEN AMERICA, WITH 102 INTERNATIONAL WRITERS AND ARTISTS, CALLS FOR INDIA TO UPHOLD THE FREEDOM TO WRITE AHEAD OF 75TH INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION
15/08/2022
Pen.org / by PEN America
Raises Ongoing Concerns About Fraying of Free Expression and Jailing and Silencing of Writers
(NEW YORK)—As India marks 75 years of independence today, 102 notable U.S. and international writers and creative artists, including Marina Abramovic, Paul Auster, J.M. Coetzee, Jennifer Egan, Jonathan Franzen, Azar Nafisi, and Orhan Pamuk, joined PEN America and PEN International in signing a letter to Indian President Droupadi Murmu, raising concern over the deterioration of free expression and calling for the release of imprisoned writers and dissident and critical voices…
Seven of the eight writers in prison in India during 2021 have been detained in connection with the ongoing Elgar Parishad case, concerning a deadly inter-caste altercation in the village of Bhima Koregaon in 2018. In response, state- and national-level authorities detained a broad swathe of leftist writers and intellectuals, accusing them of inciting the violence and of links to banned groups. Read full statement
INDIA AT 75 | CONTRIBUTORS S – Z
15/08/2022
PEN America / by Siddhartha Deb
…
Siddhartha Deb
I am not allowed to say the name of the person who told me, years ago: “India is not a nation. It is a prisonhouse of all possible nations.” Now this person is incarcerated, but I can’t describe the specifics of their suffering…
I can say the name of Stan Swamy, incarcerated and, eventually, killed by the Indian state on July 5, 2021. I can say his name because his life, if not his memory, is beyond the reach of the prisonhouse. Father Stan, dead at 84 because those running India are terrified of a Jesuit priest whose life was dedicated to working with indigenous people brutalized by Hindutva, the state, and the market. Read more
Our friend Mahesh is spending his 5th Independence Day in the prison with all the other activists in the Elgar Parishad case. They await their freedom. Please spare a thought for each one of them.
51- year-old Gadling, a well-known criminal lawyer in Nagpur, was once a cultural activist, who sang songs of political resistance. The 11- minutes- long rendition tells you what it means to be incarcerated in Indian prisons. From food, water, to medical care, everything is a struggle, Gadling narrates. The song was recorded by one of Gadling’s colleagues and was made available to The Wire after obtaining his consent.
He was not at Bhima Koregaon when violence occurred, and yet he is festering in jail. For his family, at the receiving end of the social stigma surrounding the ‘anti-national’ tag, the only balm is Him
The story of Arun Ferreira has four principal characters: Wife, Son, and Mother and Mother-in-law – both in their eighties. None of them will be named; their thoughts and emotions will be imagined from information gathered from diverse sources. The story has also a fifth character: Police. Read more