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Bombay HC tells special NIA court to expedite trial, complete framing of charges within 9 months

Bombay HC tells special NIA court to expedite trial, complete framing of charges within 9 months

Why Rona Wilson & Sudhir Dhawale were granted bail after 6 yrs in jail

15/01/2025

The Print / by Khadija Khan

Wilson, a researcher, and Dhawale, an activist, were booked under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, which has strict bail provisions. Bombay HC relied on a 2021 SC ruling.
Trial in the Elgar Parishad or Bhima Koregaon violence case is not likely to end soon, given that the prosecution has named 363 persons as its witnesses. With this crucial observation and noting that charges have not yet been framed in the case filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Bombay High Court last week granted bail to researcher Rona Wilson and activist Sudhir Dhawale.
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Bombay HC tells special NIA court to expedite trial, complete framing of charges within 9 months

15/01/2025

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

The court’s directive came while granting bail to Elgaar Parishad accused activists Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhavale, citing prolonged incarceration of over six and half years.
The Bombay High Court has asked the special court designated under National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act to expedite the trial in Elgaar Parishad case and said that framing of charges be completed within nine months.
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Also read:
▪ Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale Get Bail After 6.5 Years of Jail in Elgar Parishad Case (The Wire / Jan 2025)

Bhima Koregaon Case: From Caste Violence To Naxal Conspiracy

Bhima Koregaon Case: From Caste Violence To Naxal Conspiracy

Outlook / by Shweta Desai

The Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case began after caste violence broke out during a Dalit gathering in 2018 near Pune. It later turned into allegations of a Maoist conspiracy, leading to the arrest of several activists.
Last week, the Bombay High Court granted bail to prominent rights activists Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case. The two were arrested on the accusations of being ‘urban naxals’ and linked to the banned CPI(Maoist) organisation. Of the 16 accused–including Wilson, Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, and activists like Arun Ferreira, Gautam Navlakha, Varavara Rao, and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj–Father Stan Swamy died in custody while many others are out on bail. 
As of 2025, no charges have been framed against the accused, and the trial is yet to begin with over 300 witnesses to testify in the case. 
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Also read:
▪ Book Excerpt | How Bhima Koregaon Became a Trope for Dalit Pride and Assertion (The Wire / June 2024)
▪ Bhima Koregaon: The process continues to clot as punishment as another year passes by (The Leaflet / Jan 2024)
▪ Bhima Koregaon Violence: Four Different Theories, but No Justice in Sight (The Wire / Jan 2022)
▪ One year of Bhima-Koregaon case: Part I | History of a 200-year-old battle and why it still matters (The Leaflet / Jan 2019)
▪ One year of Bhima-Koregaon case: Part II | Why Elgar Parishad spooked Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote, the alleged architects of January 1, 2018 anti-Dalit violence (The Leaflet / Jan 2019)

US Court Finds Israel’s NSO Group, Which Sells Pegasus Spyware, Liable for WhatsApp Attacks

US Court Finds Israel’s NSO Group, Which Sells Pegasus Spyware, Liable for WhatsApp Attacks

Illustration credits: The Wire

US Court Finds NSO Liable For Hacking Of WhatsApp Using Pegasus Malware

21/12/2024

Live Law / by Gursimran Kaur Bakshi

In a summary judgment, Judge Phyllis Hamilton of the US District Court in Oakland, Northern District of California has found Israeli-mercenary’s surveillance firm NSO Group Technologies (also known as Q Cyber Technologies) liable for the hacking of Meta’s Whatsapp through its state-of-the-art military-grade malware Pegasus.
… Journalists, human rights activists, Dalit rights and anti-caste activists accused in the infamous Bhima-Koregaon Elgar Parishad under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, of 1967 were said to be the primary targets of the spyware.
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Poster by #bakeryprasad

US court finds Pegasus spyware maker liable for unauthorised surveillance of 1,400 WhatsApp users

21/12/2024

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The NSO Group violated federal legislation against unauthorised access to computers, networks and other digital information, said the court.
A district court in the United States on Friday held Israeli cyber intelligence company NSO Group liable for unauthorised surveillance of 1,400 users of the messaging application WhatsApp using its spyware Pegasus in 2019, reported Reuters.
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US Court Finds Israel’s NSO Group, Which Sells Pegasus Spyware, Liable for WhatsApp Attacks

21/12/2024

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

The judge noted that the NSO Group repeatedly failed to produce “relevant discovery and failed to obey court orders regarding such discovery.”
New Delhi: A US district court has found Israel’s NSO Group – which sells the Pegasus spyware – liable in a 2019 lawsuit brought by the messaging app WhatsApp, citing breaches in 1,400 devices.
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Pegasus: 300 of 1,400 users from India, why ruling may re-open tapping debate

22/12/2024

The Indian Express / by Soumyarendra Barik

The decision came in a case filed by Meta-owned WhatsApp against the NSO Group, with the judge in the case, Phyllis Hamilton, holding that the Israeli spyware maker was liable for targeting the devices of 1,400 WhatsApp users
For the first time, a court in the US has held Israel’s NSO Group liable for its intrusive spyware Pegasus, which could set up a measure of accountability for the company that it has, for long, allegedly downplayed.
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Also read:
▪ India: Damning new forensic investigation reveals repeated use of Pegasus spyware to target high-profile journalists (Amnesty.org / Dec 2023)
▪ Police Linked to Hacking Campaign to Frame Indian Activists (Wired.com / June 2022)
▪ Leaked Data Shows Surveillance Net in Elgar Parishad Case May Have Crossed a Line (The Wire / July 2021)

Solidarity: Himanshu Kumar’s cycle march and advocacy against opression

Solidarity: Himanshu Kumar’s cycle march and advocacy against opression

Pic credit: The Polis Project

The Polis Project / by Prashant Rahi

… On November 22 this year, the deportee from the Maoist heartland, Himanshu Kumar, now 60, completed a nearly 2,000-kilometre cycle march through western India…
The destination for the cycle march was a choice that emerged from a strong conviction. One of Kumar’s intentions was to prick the nation’s conscience over the languishing predicament, since early 2018, of “the 16 best minds of the country.” Of them, seven men and one woman still remain behind bars – the former in Taloja Central Jail and the latter in Byculla Women’s Jail.
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Video: Himanshu Kumar’s cycle march and advocacy against opression


hindi (english subtitles) | 40:06 | 2024
In this interview, senior reporter Prashant Rahi talks to Himanshu about his cycle march and history and future plans of advocacy against oppression.
Watch video

Also read:
▪ THE BK-16 PRISON DIARIES SERIES (THE POLIS PROJECT / JUNE 2024)

Delhi: Human Rights Day Protest, Demand to Free Political Prisoners

Delhi: Human Rights Day Protest, Demand to Free Political Prisoners

By The Wire


hindi | 6:31 | 2024
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Marking Human Rights Day, Students Gather At Jantar Mantar To Demand The Release Of Political Prisoners

11/12/2024

Outlook / Apeksha Priyadarshini

Led by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union, the students came together to demand the release of various political prisoners—many of them students—who have been incarcerated for more than four years.
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India: Death of human rights defender and continued repression of dissent highlights risks facing activists

India: Death of human rights defender and continued repression of dissent highlights risks facing activists

CIVICUS / by CIVICUS

India’s civil space is rated as ‘repressed’ by the CIVICUS Monitor. In recent years, the government has misused the draconian anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and other laws to keep activists behind bars and fabricate cases against activists and journalists for undertaking their work. The authorities have blocked access to foreign funding for NGOs and human rights defenders, using the restrictive Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA).
… There are other human rights defenders who have remained in jail for years under the draconian UAPA and also died in custody.
They include those implicated on baseless charges linked to the Bhima Koraegon violence in 2018 including Surendra Gadling, Hany Babu, Rona Wilson, Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor, Sudhir Dhawale, Mahesh Raut and Jyoti Jagtap.
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Also read:
▪ India: Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee on the deterioration of civic space (CIVICUS / Jul 2024)
▪ Civic Freedoms in India ‘Repressed’: Global Monitor Civicus (The Wire / Oct 2023)

Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud: The New Right liberal

Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud: The New Right liberal

Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud: The New Right liberal

05/11/2024

The Leaflet / by Indira Jaising

Does the outgoing Chief Justice of India represent the emergence of a New Right in India, one that is modern and yet able to rely on a norm above the Constitution to perform the judicial function, writes Indira Jaising.
… It was during this period that pre-trial jail and not bail became the norm of the Supreme Court of India. The accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, granted bail by the Bombay High Court, had their bail Orders stayed by the Supreme Court of India by a Bench of which Justice Trivedi was a member. Many withdrew their petitions for bail rather than have them dismissed by the Supreme Court.
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I Have Always Granted Bail From A To Z, From Arnab To Zubair: CJI DY Chandrachud

05/11/2024

Live Law / by Gursimran Kaur Bakshi

Speaking at yesterday’s discussion organised by The Indian Express, Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud answered many pressing issues and controversies including whether the Supreme Court stands true to the ‘bail is the rule, jail an exception’ principle.
Set to demit the office on November 10, CJI was asked by Apurva Vishwanath, The Indian Express, what institutional processes and mechanisms are required to prevent cases such as that of G.N. Saibaba and Stan Swamy, who have languished as undertrial prisoners for years in jail.
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Also read:
▪ Contrary To SC’s Rules Of Assignment, At Least 8 Politically Sensitive Cases Moved To One Judge In 4 Months (article 14 / Dec 2023)
▪ As Bhima Koregaon case completes its fourth anniversary, State reprisal is writ large in its twists and turns (The Leaflet / June 2022)
▪ #BhimaKoregaonVerdict: Between the majority and the minority judgments of the Supreme Court (The Leaflet / Oct 2018)

InSAF Webinar with Ajaz Ashraf on his book: Bhima Koregaon Challenging Caste (Oct 26)

InSAF Webinar with Ajaz Ashraf on his book: Bhima Koregaon Challenging Caste (Oct 26)

By INSAF India / @IndInsaf

Join us this Saturday for an online conversation with Ajaz Ashraf on his new book, Bhima Koregaon: Challenging Caste (2024).
Share widely, and we hope to see many of you there!
You can register here

Also watch/read:

▪ Video | Many Meanings of Bhima Koregaon: Ajaz Ashraf

By Daanish Bin Nabi

en | 20:12min | 2024
Watch video
▪ Process as Punishment – Recent books that bear witness to the BK-16’s incarceration (The Caravan / Jul 2024)
▪ Book Excerpt | How Bhima Koregaon Became a Trope for Dalit Pride and Assertion (The Wire │ by Ajaz Ashraf │ June 2024)

Book review | The historical backstory: Bhima Koregaon – Challenging Caste.

Book review | The historical backstory: Bhima Koregaon – Challenging Caste.

The Telegraph / by Sharmila Purkayastha

Leaving aside the somewhat extended Maoist plot, a narrative challenge in the book, Ashraf’s contribution lies in his excavation of caste contestations of modern Maharashtra
In the opening pages of Bhima Koregaon, Ajaz Ashraf sounds a word of caution when he tells the reader that the book lacks a beginning. Not just beginnings but tracing thematic connections is difficult since diverse events are yoked together across a wide swathe of historical time ranging from Shivaji’s coronation in 1674 till now.
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Bhima Koregaon: Challenging Caste. Brahminism’s wrath against dreamers of equality

Author: Ajaz Ashraf  
Publisher: AuthorsUpFront
Publishing Date: June 2024
Pages: 496
Challenging Caste reads the violence at Bhima Koregaon as a clash between two worldviews – one striving to flatten the social hierarchy, the other justifying and perpetuating it. This book rips apart the Maoist conspiracy theory and the Urban Naxal narrative.
Read more/order

Also watch/read:

▪ Video | Many Meanings of Bhima Koregaon: Ajaz Ashraf

By Daanish Bin Nabi

en | 20:12min | 2024
Watch video
▪ Process as Punishment – Recent books that bear witness to the BK-16’s incarceration (The Caravan / Jul 2024)

Mahayuti govt compelled to appropriate INDIA alliance Constitution driven call?

Mahayuti govt compelled to appropriate INDIA alliance Constitution driven call?

Booklet: “Salaakhon Mein Qaid Avaazein” (Access PDF)

Sabrangindia / by Tanya Arora

As the Maharashtra Assembly elections approach, with the announcement due any day now, the Shinde government has rolled s out last-minute welfare measures! And its “alliance partner,” the BJP has today issued appropriate-ory advertisements, with deputy chief minister Devendra Phadnavis prostrating before a statue of Dr BR Ambedkar; this while the state regime continues to undermine constitutional values while exploiting Dr. Ambedkar’s legacy to secure votes from marginalised communities
… One also cannot forget the infamous Bhima Koregaon case, which is another chilling example of how dissent, especially from Dalit and Adivasi rights activists, has been criminalised in Maharashtra. The case stems from the January 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence, where clashes broke out after Dalits gathered to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon, a symbolic event marking Dalit pride and resistance.
Read more

Also read:
▪ A New Bill Shows Maharashtra Wants to Become a Police State Before Combatting Left-Wing Extremism (The Wire / Jul 2024)
▪ What is Maharashtra’s new Bill to curb ‘Naxalism in urban areas’? (The Indian Express / Jul 2024)
▪ Maharashtra: Activists, Lawyers Added to ‘Union War Book’, Listed as ‘Enemies of the State’ (The Wire / Jul 2021)