case update – Page 40 – free them all

High Court: Accept cash surety from Varavara Rao / Activist Varavara Rao’s release delayed

06/03/2021 Rani

HC: Accept cash surety from Varavara Rao

06/03/2021

Times of India / by Vaibhav Ganjapure

The Nagpur bench of Bombay high court on Friday directed release of poet PV Varavara Rao on cash surety of Rs 50,000. Justice Anuja Prabhudesai directed the Gadchiroli sessions court to send his release order to Taloja Central Jail, Mumbai, by email or any other electronic mode after he furnishes the surety amount.
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Activist Varavara Rao’s release delayed

04/03/2021

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Despite the Bombay High Court granting him interim bail, ailing revolutionary poet Varavara Rao’s release would be further delayed as a court in Gadchiroli has asked his family to file deposit papers in the format that they have specified.
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Bombay High Court Relaxes Bail Condition To Facilitate Varavara Rao Release On Temporary Bail

01/03/2021

Live Law / by Shrmeen Hakim

The Bombay High Court, on Monday, allowed 81-year-old Telugu poet – Dr Varavara Rao’s – plea for relaxation of his temporary bail condition and provisional release on furnishing a cash security of Rs 50,000.
A division bench of Justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale further granted the Bhima Koregaon – Elgaar Parishad accused time till April 5, 2021 to furnish solvent sureties. The octogenarian has been under custody awaiting trial since August 28, 2018.
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Bombay HC Allows Varavara Rao’s Counsel to Visit Him to Complete Bail Formalities

25/02/2021

The Wire / by pti

Rao, 82, was on Monday granted interim bail for six months by the high court on medical grounds.
The Bombay high court on Thursday permitted a counsel of poet-activist Varavara Rao, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, to visit him in the Nanavati Hospital here to obtain his signatures for completion of his bail formalities.
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Varavara Rao’s kin seek relief from ‘difficult’ bail conditions set by Bombay HC

23/02/2021

The News Minute / by TNM Staff

The 81-year-old poet has been ordered to stay within the jurisdiction of the Mumbai NIA court.
Relatives of ailing revolutionary poet and activist Varavara Rao welcomed the Bombay High Court’s order granting interim bail to him, but said the conditions put forth by the court were difficult to be met. On Monday, the Bombay HC granted bail on medical grounds to the Telugu poet jailed in connection with the Bhima Koregaon Elgar Parishad case for six months. At the end of the six-month period, the court said that Varavara Rao must report back to Navi Mumbai’s Taloja jail, where he can either surrender or seek an extension.
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Can’t afford Mumbai rent, says Varavara Rao’s family on court’s bail condition

22/02/2021

Hindustan Times / by Srinivasa Rao Apparasu

Varavara RAo’s brother-in-law said the poet has no relatives in Mumbai who could take care of him during the bail period.
The family of octogenarian Pendyala Varavara Rao, noted revolutionary poet, is relieved that the Bombay High Court on Monday granted medical bail to him in the Bhima Koregaon violence case, but it has another worry on its hands: where to house him in Mumbai. The court order said that the poet cannot go back to Hyderabad, his home.
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Supreme Court seeks response from NIA on plea for default bail by Gautam Navlakha

03/03/2021 Maya

Supreme Court seeks response from National Investigation Agency on plea for default bail by Gautam Navlakha

03/03/2021

Bar & Bench / by Dbayan Roy

Navlakha has sought default bail on the ground that the NIA failed to file its chargesheet within the prescribed upper-limit of 90 days as per Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought the response of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on the bail plea by Bhima Koregaon accused Gautam Navlakha.
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Supreme Court Issues Notice On Gautam Navlakha’s Plea Against Bombay High Court Judgment Denying Him Default Bail

03/03/2021

Live Law / by Radhika Roy

Supreme Court bench headed by Justice UU Lalit on Wednesday issued notice on a petition filed by activist and Journalist Gautam Navlakha challenging Bombay High Court’s recent order rejecting his bail application in the Bhima Koregaon (Elgar Parishad – Maoist links) case.
A three-judge Bench of Justices UU Lalit, Indira Banerjee and KM Joseph was hearing the plea against the Judgment of Bombay High Court which refused to interfere in his criminal appeal filed against an order of the special court, which rejected his application for default bail in June, last year. He is in prison since his surrender on April, 14 2020.
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Supreme Court To Hear Gautam Navlakha’s Plea Against Bombay High Court’s Order Denying Him Bail On March 3

01/03/2021

Live Law / by Srishti Ojha

Activist and Journalist Gautam Navlakha who is an accused in the Elgar Parishad – Maoist links case has moved the Supreme Court challenging Bombay High Court’s recent order rejecting his bail application. A three-judge Bench of Justices UU Lalit, Indira Banerjee and KM Joseph is scheduled to hear his plea on Wednesday, 3rd March 2021.
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Gautam Navlakha moves Supreme Court against rejection of default bail by Bombay High Court

01/03/2021

Bar & Bench

Gautam Navlakha, accused in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence, has approached the Supreme Court against the rejection of his plea for default bail by Bombay High Court…
Navlakha has sought bail on the ground that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) failed to file its chargesheet within the prescribed upper-limit of 90 days as per Section 167(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
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Sudha Bharadwaj’s plea for NIA to withdraw ‘defamatory’ remark ‘not maintainable’ says court

01/03/2021 Rani

Free Press Journal / by Staff Reporter

In a detailed order, a special NIA court which rejected on 12 February an application by Bhima-Koregaon accused activist Sudha Bharadwaj seeking that the NIA withdraw its ‘defamatory’ remarks against her, has said that her plea is ‘not maintainable’ as there is no such provision under the Criminal Procedure Code.
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Varavara Rao granted interim bail in Surajgar arson case [read order]

25/02/2021 Maya

Sabrangindia / by Sabrangindia

Rao’s lawyers cited Bombay High Court’s judgement granting bail on medical grounds while securing bail in this case.
The Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court has granted temporary bail to 82-year-old Telugu poet Varavara Rao for 4 weeks, following the Principal bench order granting him bail on medical grounds.
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+++ Bombay HC grants bail on medical grounds to Varavara Rao for six month [read judgement] +++

22/02/2021 Rani

By Live Law (Feb 24):
Accused Varavara Rao approaches the Bombay High Court seeking a month to comply with his bail condition of submitting two solvent sureties to the Special NIA Court +++

By Bar & Bench (Feb 24):
Bombay High Court will hear Bhima Koregaon accused Varavara Rao’s application tomorrow seeking directions for making change in the formality of submitting surety to the Special NIA Court for releasing Rao on bail +++

Bombay HC Grants Varavara Rao Six Months’ Bail on Medical Grounds

22/02/2021

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

Within this period, the poet must remain within the jurisdiction of the special NIA court that is hearing the charges him against in the Elgar Parishad case.
New Delhi: The Bombay high court on Monday granted poet and rights activist Varavara Rao six months’ bail on medical grounds. Within this period, however, the poet must remain within the jurisdiction of the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court that is hearing the charges against him in the Elgar Parishad case, the court said.
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Bombay High Court Grants Varavara Rao Bail For 6 Months On Medical Grounds

22/02/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The Bombay High Court on Monday granted bail on medical grounds to 81-year-old ailing Telugu Poet Dr Varavara Rao, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case.
The High Court observed that it was a “genuine and fit” case for granting relief in view of the advanced age of the petitioner and inadequate facilities at Taloja jail hospital. The bench added that if it denies relief to Rao, it will be abdicating its constitutional duties as a protector of human rights and right to health covered under Article 21 of the Constitution.
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Bombay High Court grants bail to Bhima Koregaon accused Dr. Varavara Rao for six month [read judgement]

22/02/2021

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

“We feel that with the condition of the under trial, it would be inappropriate to send him back (to jail),” the Bench of Justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale ruled.
The Bombay High Court on Monday granted bail to 82-year-old Bhima Koregaon accused Dr. Varavara Rao on medical grounds.
The Court has granted the octogenarian bail for a period of six months.
The order was passed by a Bench of Justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale in two separate pleas – one by Rao praying for bail and the other by his wife Pendyala Hemlatha seeking the Court’s intervention in view of the alleged violation of his fundamental right to health.
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Varavara Rao granted six-month bail on medical grounds [read judgement]

22/02/2021

The Leaflet / by The Leaflet

The Bombay High Court Monday granted six months medical bail to 82-year-old Dr. PV Varavara Rao, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case. Dr. Rao is facing charges under the unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act’ (UAPA).
A division bench of Justice SS Shinde and Manish Pitale said it would have abdicated its duty in protecting his fundamental rights if it had denied bail to the ailing Telugu poet.
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Bombay High Court verdict on February 22 in bail plea by accused Varavara Rao

21/02/2021

Bar and Bench / by Neha Joshi

Rao is presently lodged in Nanavati Hospital after the State informed the Court their willingness to shift Rao to the private hospital as a special case. The verdict will be pronounced at 11 am tomorrow.
Besides Rao’s plea for bail, the Court will also pronounce its verdict on a plea filed by his wife Pendyala Hemlatha seeking the Court’s intervention in view of alleged violation of his “fundamental right to health”.
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Activist Sudha Bharadwaj’s plea against NIA to withdraw ‘defamatory’ remarks rejected

13/02/2021 Maya

Poster, Aug 2020

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Bharadwaj had filed a plea in December, seeking access to unredacted copies of statements of witnesses recorded under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The NIA, in its reply, had opposed the plea and alleged that access to statements was sought to cause harm to the witnesses.
A special court on Friday rejected an application by law professor and activist Sudha Bharadwaj that sought directions to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to withdraw “defamatory” allegations made against her in a written reply filed by the agency.
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Rona Wilson Moves Bombay HC Seeking SIT Probe Into His Framing [read petition]

10/02/2021 Rani

Rona Wilson challenges his prosecution in Bombay HC; seeks SIT probe into his framing [read petition/forensic report]

10/02/2021

The Leaflet / by The Leaflet

An accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, Rona Wilson, has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court challenging his prosecution under the stringent anti-terrorism Unlawful Activities (Prevention) (UAPA) Act. He has also sought the constitution of a special investigation team (SIT) to investigate his “framing” and “targeting” by planting incriminating material in his laptop.
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Rona Wilson Moves Bombay High Court Seeking SIT Probe Into Forensic Report

10/02/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

Researcher Rona Wilson, the first person to be arrested in the Bhima Koregaon Case, on Wednesday, approached the Bombay High Court seeking the formation of a Special Investigation Team to inquire into the planting of fabricated documents in his computer over a course of around 22 months.
Wilson, as well as 15 other civil rights activists and academics, in India, are incarcerated, facing charges under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) based on letters primarily retrieved from his and co-accused Surendra Gadling’s computer, to claim a conspiracy to kill the Prime Minister and overthrow the government.
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Also Read: Computer of Rona Wilson was compromised, malware planted from outside: US Forensic Firm report (Feb 10, 2021)

Key evidence against jailed activists planted using malware, says forensic report [read report] / Video: Planted Evidence?

10/02/2021 Rani

They were Accused of plotting to overthrow the Modi government – The evidence was planted, a new report says

10/02/2021

Washington Post / by Niha Masih and Joanna Slater

Key evidence against a group of Indian activists accused of plotting to overthrow the government was planted on a laptop seized by police, a new forensics report concludes, deepening doubts about a case viewed as a test of the rule of law under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
An attacker used malware to infiltrate a laptop belonging to one of the activists, Rona Wilson, before his arrest and deposited at least 10 incriminating letters on the computer, according to a report from Arsenal Consulting, a Massachusetts-based digital forensics firm that examined an electronic copy of the laptop at the request of Wilson’s lawyers.
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Computer of Rona Wilson was compromised, malware planted from outside: US Forensic Firm report

10/02/2021

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The report was prepared by a foreign digital forensics consulting company appointed by the lawyers of Rona Wilson, accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.
… Massachusetts-based firm Arsenal Consulting was appointed by Wilson’s lawyers to analyse the electronic evidence seized from his home by the Pune Police in 2018.
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Read Arsenal Consulting’s full report here

Video: Planted Evidence?

10/02/2021

en | 23:20min | 2021

NDTV / by Sreenivasan Jain

In this episode of Reality Check, a new report suggests crucial evidence on which the investigating agencies built the case against activists in the Bhima Koregaon case may have been planted.
Sreenivasan Jain in conversation with Mark Spencer, Head of Arsenal Consulting; Joanna Slater, Washington Post; Vrinda Grover, Advocate Supreme Court; Geeta Bhatt, Political Analyst; N Venugopal, Varavara Rao’s nephew.
Watch video

Key evidence against jailed activists planted using malware, says forensic report

10/02/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The report found that an attacker used malware to infiltrate activist Rona Wilson’s laptop before his arrest, and deposited at least 10 incriminating letters.
Key evidence against a group of activists and intellectuals, who have been arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case, was planted using a malware on a laptop seized by police, a new forensics report has found, The Washington Post reported.
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Incriminating Letters Were ‘Planted’ on Rona Wilson’s Laptop: US Digital Forensics Firm

10/02/2021

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

Investigating agencies have used these letters to implicate Wilson and 15 other rights activists arrested in the ongoing Elgar Parishad case of 2018.
For at least 22 months before the Pune Police had raided activist Rona Wilson’s residence in New Delhi and arrested him, a cyber attacker had allegedly gained access to his laptop and planted at least 10 incriminating letters on it.
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Also Read:
► Prison-rights activist Rona Wilson’s hard disk contained malware that allowed remote access (The Caravan, Mar 2020)
► 13 letters leaked by Pune police show why it’s hard to believe claims about a Maoist conspiracy (Scroll.in, Sep 2018)

Bombay HC Rejects Gautam Navlakha’s Default Bail Plea [read order]

09/02/2021 Rani

by The Logical Indian (Feb 9): The Bombay High court on February 8 dismissed the bail plea of activist Gautam Navlakha who was arrested in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case +++
by The Logical Indian (Feb 9): The special court then accepted NIA’s plea seeking an extension of 90 to 180 days to file the charge sheet against Navlakha and co-accused Anand Teltumbde +++

Period under illegal detention has to be excluded in computing 90-day custody period for default bail [read order]

08/02/2021

Bar & Bench

The bone of contention was whether the period of 34 days during which Navlakha was under house arrest could be included towards calculating the 90 day period for custody prescribed under Section 167(2) of CrPC.
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Bombay High Court Dismisses Bail Application Of Gautam Navlakha In Bhima Koregaon Case

08/02/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

A division bench of Justices SS Shinde and MS Karnik passed the order on a criminal appeal filed by Navlakha against an order of the special court, which rejected his application for default bail in June, last year. He is in prison since his surrender on April, 14 2020.
“We see no reason to interfere with the order of the trial court”, said the Court.
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Bhima Koregaon Case: Bombay HC Rejects Gautam Navlakha’s Default Bail Plea

08/02/2021

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

“We see no reason to interfere with the order of the trial court,” the division bench said in response to an appeal filed by the activist.
The Bombay High Court on Monday dismissed the default bail petition of activist Gautam Navlakha in the Bhima Koregaon case.
Navlakha approached the high court last year, challenging the special NIA court’s order of July 12, 2020, that rejected his plea for statutory bail. On December 16 last year, the bench reserved its verdict on the plea seeking default bail filed by Navlakha.
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Also Read: Should Gautam Navlakha’s House Arrest In 2018 Be Included For Computing Period For Default Bail? (Dec 2020)

HC Reserves Order On Varavara Rao’s Bail On Medical Grounds

01/02/2021 Rani

‘His Crime Is A Crime Of Conscience´: Jaising Argues As Bombay HC Reserves Order On Varavara Rao’s Bail On Medical Grounds

01/02/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The Bombay High Court on Monday reserved its order on the medical bail pleas of 81-year-old ailing Telugu poet – Dr Varavara Rao – an accused in the Elgar Parishad- Bhima Koregaon case.
His lawyers have sought for the octogenarian to be granted bail and sent back to his home, in Hyderabad, for at least three months, owing to his advanced age and neurological condition. The National Investigating agency and the State have vehemently argued against setting him at liberty due to the serious allegations against him.
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Bombay High Court reserves bail plea order of Varavara Rao

01/02/2021

The New Indian Express / by Sudhir Suryawanshi

Senior Advocate Indira Jaising appearing on behalf of Hemlatha said that Rao has spent 149 days of the 365 days in a year, in a hospital ward.
The Bombay High Court on Monday reserved its order on the medical bail pleas of 81-year-old ailing Telugu poet and activist Varavara Rao, who is an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon case.
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