case update – Page 8 – free them all

Bombay High Court hears fresh bail plea of Gautam Navlakha

03/08/2023 Asha

Bombay High Court hears fresh bail plea of Gautam Navlakha

04/08/2023

The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala

Advocate Yug Chaudhry, representing Gautam Navalkha, sought parity with the recent judgment of the Supreme Court granting bail to co-accused Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira. Chaudhry took the court through the material cited by the National Investigation Agency, claiming there was no evidence to prove the commission of any “terrorist act” by Navlakha.
On Friday, a division Bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Justices A.S. Gadkari and Shivkumar Dige heard a fresh bail application filed by journalist and human rights activist Gautam Navlakha.
… The matter is posted for further hearing on August 7.
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‘If I write mercy plea for Kasab…’: Elgar parishad accused asks Bombay High Court

03/08/2023

India Today / by Vidya

Gautam Navlakha has been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). He has been behind bars since the last three and half years and is currently under house arrest.
The bail plea hearing of Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Elgar Parishad case, began before the bench of Justices AS Gadkari and SG Dige on Thursday. Advocate Yug Mohit Chaudhari, representing Navlakha, raised significant concerns regarding the charges levied against the activist under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including waging war against the country and conspiracy.
Read more

Also read:
● Supreme Court grants bail to Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, with tethers (The Leaflet / July 28, 2023)
● Why the SC Judgment Granting Bail to Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira Is So Significant (The Wire / Jul 2023)
● Why the Bombay High Court granted regular bail to Dr. Anand Teltumbde: An explainer (The Leaflet / Dec 2022)

NIA Court Imposes Extra Bail Terms on Gonsalves & Ferreira / Is this constitutional? / Release may get delayed

31/07/2023 Asha

NIA Court Imposes Extra Bail Terms on Gonsalves & Ferreira: What Does This Mean?

01/08/2023

The Quint / by The Quint

The Supreme Court had granted bail to Bhima Koregaon accused Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira on 28 July.
Even though the Supreme Court granted bail to Bhima Koregaon accused Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira on Friday, 28 July, the two might not walk out of prison just yet.
Why the delay? A special NIA court, according to India Today, has imposed additional bail conditions on them.
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Bhima Koregaon accused asked to share phone location while on bail. Is this constitutional?

01/08/2023

Scroll.in / by Vineet Bhalla

A Supreme Court bench is currently adjudicating the constitutionality of such a bail condition.
… The two-judge bench of the court comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia on Friday imposed unusually restrictive bail conditions on Ferreira and Gonsalves. One of them is the requirement of keeping “the location status of their mobile phones active, 24 hours a day” and “pair[ing]” their phones with those of the investigating officer of the National Investigation Agency to enable the officer to identify Ferreira’s and Gonsalves’ exact location “at any given time”.
While this may sound like an uncommon bail condition, it has featured in three previous orders of the Supreme Court over the last nine months. In all four instances, Justice Bose was part of the bench that passed the order. The Delhi High Court has passed over 800 bail orders with this condition.
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Release of Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira may get delayed as court rejects cash bail plea

31/07/2023

The Telegraph / by pti

The court imposed additional conditions for their bail, directing the accused to furnish a PR (personal recognisance) bond of Rs 50,000 each.
The release of activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, could get delayed as a special NIA court here on Monday rejected their pleas for temporary cash bail.
The court imposed additional conditions for their bail, directing the accused to furnish a PR (personal recognisance) bond of Rs 50,000 each and desist from speaking to the media about the case.
Read more

After securing Supreme Court bail, activists Gonsalves, Ferreira likely to walk out of jail next week

28/07/2023

The Telegraph / by pti

The apex court, while giving relief, asked them not to leave Maharashtra and surrender their passports to the police.
Activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, are likely to walk out of jail only next week after securing bail from the Supreme Court on Friday as certain formalities are to be completed before they are released, defence lawyers said here.
Read more

Also read:
● Supreme Court grants bail to Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, with tethers (The Leaflet / July 28, 2023)

No evidence against Gonsalves, Ferreira; mere possession of violent literature not terrorist Act: SC [Read judgment]

28/07/2023 Asha

‘No Material’ to Demonstrate Terror Link, Yet Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferriera Spent 5 Years in Jail [Read judgment]

29/07/2023

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

It took five-full years of incarceration and several rejections of bail applications before both the trial court and the high court before the Supreme Court finally could notice that the country’s premier investigating agency, the National Investigations Agency (NIA), has shown no evidence to keep two men in their custody.
The Supreme Court on Friday, July 28, in a detailed 54-page bail order observed that human rights defenders Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferriera were both held in jail even when “no material has been demonstrated by the NIA before us that the appellants are members of the terrorist organisation”.
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Mere Possession Of Extremist Literature Not ‘Terrorist Activity’ Under UAPA; No ‘Credible Evidence’ Against Vernon & Arun: Supreme Court [Read judgment]

29/07/2023

Live Law / by Awstika Das

Mere possession of literature even if it inspires or propagates violence by itself would neither amount to a ‘terrorist act’ within the meaning of Section 15 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 2002, nor any other offences under Chapters IV and VI of the Act, the Supreme Court of India held while granting bail to Bhima Koregaon-accused and activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira. This verdict was delivered yesterday by a bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia.
Read more
Read judgment

No evidence against Gonsalves, Ferreira; mere possession of violent literature not terrorist Act: Supreme Court [Read judgment]

28/07/2023

Bar & Bench / by Debayan Roy

The Court noted that there was no evidence of Gonsalves and Ferreira committing any terrorist act that would attract the stringent provisions against grant of bail under the UAPA.
Mere possession of literature through which violent acts may be propagated will not fall within the scope of ‘terrorist act’ under Section 15 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Supreme Court said while granting bail to Bhima Koregaon violence accused Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira on Friday [Vernon v. State of Maharashtra].
Read more
Read judgment

Mere possession of certain literature is not ‘terrorist act’ under UAPA, says Supreme Court

29/07/2023

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia made the observation while granting bail to Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in the Bhima Koregaon case.
Merely possessing certain literature which might be used to propagate violent actions cannot be charged as a “terrorist act” under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Supreme Court said on Friday, reported Bar and Bench.
Read more

Also read:
● Supreme Court grants bail to Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, with tethers (The Leaflet / July 28, 2023)
● Why the Bombay High Court granted regular bail to Dr. Anand Teltumbde: An explainer (The Leaflet / Dec 2022)

Supreme Court grants regular bail to Vernon Gonsalves & Arun Ferreira, with tethers

28/07/2023 Asha

Supreme Court grants bail to Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, with tethers

28/07/2023

The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala

The Bench directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA)’s special court to set such conditions as necessary, including requiring the two to not change their mobile phones, keep them active and charged at all times, keep the location status of the mobile phones ‘active’ all through the day, and pair the devices with the devices of the investigating office of the NIA.
On Friday, the Supreme Court granted regular bail to trade unionist, activist and academic Vernon Gonsalves, and activist and lawyer Arun Ferreira.
Read more

Supreme Court Grants Bail To Vernon Gonsalves & Arun Ferreira In Bhima Koregaon Case

28/07/2023

Live Law / by Awstika Das

The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Bhima Koregaon-accused and activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, both of whom have been lodged in jail since August 2018 for alleged offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. They were arrested in connection with the 2018 caste-based violence that broke out at Bhima Koregaon in Pune, and for having alleged links with the proscribed far-left outfit, Communist Party of India (Maoists).
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Supreme Court Grants Bail To Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira [Read judgment]

28/07/2023

Bar & Bench / by Debayan Roy

A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia said that while the charges against the two accused are serious, that alone cannot be the reason for denying bail.
The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence case of 2018 [Vernon vs State of Maharashtra and anr].
Read more
Read judgment

After 5 Years in Jail, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira Get Bail in Elgar Parishad Case

28/07/2023

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

… The Elgar Parishad case, registered by the Pune police in January 2018 and later handed over to the National Investigating Agency in 2020, has been mired in controversy since the very start. While the state had initially claimed that 16 persons – including Gonsalves and Ferreira – played an active role in “provoking” the gathered crowd at Bhima Koregaon with their speeches and triggering violence on the 200th-anniversary celebration of the battle of Bhima Koregaon, they were later accused of being “urban Naxals”.
The claims of their alleged association with the banned CPI (Maoist) organisation is based on purported emails and other evidence allegedly retrieved from the electronic devices belonging to the accused. These claims, however, have been challenged by many independent forensic organisations.
Read more

Also read:
● National Campaign to Defend Democracy: 5 Years of Unjust Incarceration under Fabricated Evidence (Counterview / July 2023)
● Why the letter about a ‘Rajiv Gandhi-type’ assassination plot to kill Modi is fake (dailyo | by Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves | Jun 2018)
● Why peoples’ coalitions are uniting against Hindutva — the ‘new Peshwai’ (dailyo | by Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves | Jan 2018)

NIA is allowed yet more time to file reply to plea for furnishing copies of evidence to accused

28/07/2023 Asha

The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala

A few accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad Maoist links and criminal conspiracy case have previously argued that their applications for cloned copies under Section 207 of the Code of Criminal Procedure have been pending for more than five years.
On Friday, a National Investigation (NIA) special court of judge Rajesh Kataria allowed the NIA time till August 17 to file a reply to the applications filed by the accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad Maoist links and criminal conspiracy case.
Read more

Also read:
● NIA gets more time to reply to plea for furnishing copies of evidence to the accused (The Leaflet / Jul 18, 2023)
● Why Courts Are Ignoring Concerns Of Planted Evidence In The Bhima-Koregaon Prosecution (article14 / Jan 2023)
● Incriminating evidence planted in computers: The Trojan solved the Bhima Koregaon case! (Anchored Narratives / Jan 2023)
● Police Linked to Hacking Campaign to Frame Indian Activists (Wired.com / June 2022)

Bombay High Court allows NIA’s request to adjourn Mahesh Raut’s bail plea

27/07/2023 Asha

Bombay High Court allows NIA’s request to adjourn Mahesh Raut’s bail plea

27/07/2023

The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala

The National Investigation Agency has sought the adjournment of Mahesh Raut’s bail plea on the ground that the newly appointed Additional Solicitor General of India is yet to assume office. The matter is posted for further hearing on August 7.
On Thursday, the division Bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Justices A.S. Gadkari and Shivkumar Dige allowed adjournment of hearing in the bail plea of forest rights activist Mahesh Raut.
Read more

ASG for Bombay High Court takes charge, seeks time to argue Elgar Parishad bail plea

27/07/2023

India Today / by Vidya

Devang Vyas is currently the ASG for Gujarat High Court and has now assumed the additional role of ASG for the Bombay High Court for a duration of six months or more.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Devang Vyas on Thursday informed the Bombay High Court that he had just assumed charge and requested some time to prepare himself. As a result, he sought an adjournment for the hearing of the bail plea of Elgar Parishad accused Mahesh Raut… He also requested that the bail plea of Raut’s co-accused, Gautam Navlakha, be adjourned to another date.
Read more

Also read:
● National Campaign to Defend Democracy: 5 Years of Unjust Incarceration under Fabricated Evidence (Counterview / July 2023)
● NIA opposes Mahesh Raut’s bail plea in Bombay HC (Indian Express / June 2023)
● Gadchiroli’s 300 Gram Sabhas Pass Resolution in Support of Activist Mahesh Raut (The Wire / Oct 2018)
● Mining In Gadchiroli – Building A Castle Of Injustices (Countercurrents / by Neema Pathak Broome and Mahesh Raut / June 2017)

Probe agency opposes Gautam Navlakha’s bail plea in Bombay High Court

25/07/2023 Asha

NIA Opposes Bail Application Of Accused Gautam Navlakha

25/07/2023

Free Press Journal / by Urvi Mahajani

NIA has claimed that Navlakha is an active member of a banned terror organisation and engages in activities furthering its objectives. The NIA also recovered incriminating documents from gadgets in his house.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has opposed bail plea of former journalist Gautam Navlakha, an accused in the Elgar Parishad – Bhima Koregaon case, stating that the lower court rejected his bail plea on the grounds that the accusations against him are prima facie true. NIA has also claimed that Navlakha was an active member of a banned terror organisation and engages in activities furthering its objectives.
Read more

Probe agency opposes Navlakha’s bail plea in Bombay High Court

25/07/2023

India Today / by Vidya

The NIA cited its chargesheet that claims that Gautam Navlakha was recruited by Ghulam Nabi Fai on the direction of Pakistan’s spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has requested a one-week adjournment for the hearing of Gautam Navlakha’s bail plea, as the newly appointed Additional Solicitor General (ASG) is yet to assume office.
Read more

NIA gets more time to reply to plea for furnishing copies of evidence to the accused

18/07/2023 Asha

The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala

A few accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad Maoist links and criminal conspiracy case have previously argued that their applications for cloned copies under Section 207 of the Code of Criminal Procedure have been pending for more than five years.
On Tuesday, a National Investigation Agency (NIA) court of special judge Rajesh Kataria allowed the agency time to file an additional reply to the applications filed by accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon–Elgar Parishad Maoist links and criminal conspiracy case.
… The matter is posted for further hearing on the applications filed under Section 207 of the CrPC on July 28.
Read more

Also read:
● Why Courts Are Ignoring Concerns Of Planted Evidence In The Bhima-Koregaon Prosecution (article14 / Jan 2023)
● Incriminating evidence planted in computers: The Trojan solved the Bhima Koregaon case! (Anchored Narratives / Jan 2023)
● Police Linked to Hacking Campaign to Frame Indian Activists (Wired.com / June 2022)

Supreme Court directs respondents to file reply to Shoma Sen’s bail plea

14/07/2023 Asha

The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala

A division Bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justices Aniruddha Bode and Sanjay Kumar, permitted Sen to file an additional affidavit on her deteriorating health within two weeks.
On Friday, a division Bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justices Aniruddha Bode and Sanjay Kumar, directed the respondents to file a reply affidavit to the bail application filed by women rights activist and academic Shoma Sen.
Read more

Also read:
● “Hopefully waiting” writes Shoma Sen from prison (InSAF India / July 7, 2023)

● Shoma Sen’s discharge application at NIA asserts discrepancies in evidence against her (The Leaflet / June 2023)
● Shoma Sen moves Supreme Court seeking bail (The Leaflet / April 2023)

SC Adjourns Jyoti Jagtap’s Bail Plea; Judgments On Pleas Of Vernon Gonsalves & Arun Ferreira Expected Next Week

11/07/2023 Asha

Supreme Court allows respondents to file counter affidavits to bail plea of Jyoti Jagtap

11/07/2023

The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala

The division Bench of the Supreme Court directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Maharashtra government to file counter affidavits within a period of three weeks.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court allowed the respondents to file counter affidavits within a period of three weeks in the bail plea of anti-caste activist and musical performer, Jyoti Jagtap.
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Supreme Court Adjourns Jyoti Jagtap’s Bail Plea; Judgments On Pleas Of Vernon Gonsalves & Arun Ferreira Expected Next Week

11/07/2023

Live Law / by Awstika Das

The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing in the bail plea of activist and Bhima Koregaon case accused Jyoti Jagtap, saying that the judgments on the bail applications of co-accused Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira are expected to be delivered next week.
Read more

Also read:
● SC issues notice to Maha, NIA on activist Jyoti Jagtap’s plea for bail (The Print / May 2023)
● Supreme Court reserves its judgment on bail pleas by Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira (The Leaflet / March 2023)
● Kabir Kala Manch incited hatred, passion at Elgar Parishad: Bombay High Court (India Today / Oct 2022)