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Bombay High Court Refuses To Stay Prison Transfer Order Of Bhima Koregaon Accused

Bombay High Court Refuses To Stay Prison Transfer Order Of Bhima Koregaon Accused

Bombay High Court Refuses To Stay Prison Transfer Order Of Bhima Koregaon Accused

06/08/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The Bombay High Court on Friday observed that the accused in the Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad Case resisting their transfer out of Taloja Prison, despite repeatedly complaining about the prison authorities there, is confusing and paradoxical.
The bench refused to stay the transfer orders without hearing the State and adjourned the matter to Wednesday after the State sought time.
The court was seized with one plea filed by the kin of accused Dalit scholar Anand Teltumbde, civil rights lawyer Surendra Gadling and activist Sudhir Dhawale’s friend. Tribal rights activist Mahesh Raut has filed the second plea.
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Victimized For Demanding Their Rights as Prisoners: Kin of Bhima Koregaon Move Bombay High Court Against Prison Transfer Orders

03/08/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The petition accuses Taloja’s previous Superintendent of initiating the transfers to cover up violations of the rights guaranteed under The Prisons Act, 1894
Kin of three accused in the Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad Case have approached the Bombay High Court challenging three orders to transfer ten accused out of Taloja Central Prison to any other prison in Maharashtra.
The petition states that Special NIA Judge DE Kothalikar’s orders, repeatedly permitting their transfers without issuing a notice, giving a hearing to them or recording reasons, violates principles of natural justice.
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Kin of Surendra Galding, Anand Teltumbde, Sudhir Dhawale move Bombay HC challenging transfer from Taloja jail

03/08/2021

Bar & Benach / by Neha Joshi

Immediate family members of Dr. Anand Teltumbde, Surendra Gadling and Sudhir Dhawale, accused in the Bhima Koregaon case of 2018, have approached the Bombay High Court challenging the decision to transfer them out of Taloja Central Prison to any other “unspecified prison” in the State.
The petitioners said the Superintendent was attempting to transfer the accused, by dividing them and sending them to separate jails and it was “an act of victimization for having demanded their rights as prisoners.
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Bombay HC seeks Hany Babu’s health report from hospital after lawyer says his eye condition better

Bombay HC seeks Hany Babu’s health report from hospital after lawyer says his eye condition better

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

The court was hearing a petition by Hany Babu’s wife Jenny Rowenna seeking that the DU associate professor be released on bail on health grounds.
The Bombay High Court Thursday directed Breach Candy Hospital in the city to provide the latest health report of Delhi University associate professor Hany Babu, an accused in the Elgar Parishad case who is currently under treatment at a private hospital.
… The HC will consider the plea next on August 6.
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Video: A letter poem to Professor Hany Babu

Video: A letter poem to Professor Hany Babu


en | 2.47min | 2021

Maktoob / by Shivangi Mariam Raj

Delhi University professor, scholar in linguistics, and noted anti-caste activist Hany Babu completes one year in prison under draconian UAPA in Elgar Parishad case.
Hany Babu’s student at Delhi University and an academic publishing professional Shivangi Mariam Raj wrote this poem “Dear Hany, This is just to say” in November last year, four months Hany’s arrest by NIA. (You can read the full poem here.)
Voice: Farzana Rowena, daughter of Hany Babu
Graphics: Shaheen Abdulla
Watch video

Political prisoners part of broader dissent against state excesses / The Future of Social Activism

Political prisoners part of broader dissent against state excesses / The Future of Social Activism


Poster, July 2020

Political prisoners part of broader dissent against state excesses

27/07/2021

The Leaflet / by Achintya Anita Gurumurthy

It has been over 500 days since Khalid Saifi’s incarceration and 300 for Umar Khalid in the northeast Delhi riots cases and almost three weeks since the custodial demise of Father Stan Swamy in the Bhima-Koregaon case – all arrested under the dreaded Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, (UAPA) 1967. The arrests have put the spotlight back on the category of ‘political prisoners’, who are imprisoned for opposing the government via their actions or beliefs.
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State and the Future of Social Activism

27/07/2021

EPW / by Gopal Guru

The death of Father Stan Swamy and several others as the tragic outcome of the arrest and detention without fair trial brings into critical focus the approach that the state has been adopting towards understanding social activism. In the ethics of democratic practice and constitutional morality, such an official approach would be evaluated as indiscrete, if not arbitrary, in comprehending the nature of social activism.
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161 Names Revealed On Snoop List So Far / Indian activists jailed on terrorism charges were on list

161 Names Revealed On Snoop List So Far / Indian activists jailed on terrorism charges were on list

161 Names Revealed By The Wire On Snoop List So Far

27/07/2021

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

Over the past few days, The Wire – in collaboration with 16 other media organisations – has been revealing the names of people who were either persons of interest or forensically identified as having been targeted by clients of the NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware.
Those on the list include heads of state, political figures, activists, students, lawyers and journalists, among others.
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Pegasus exposé raises unjust detention cry

20/07/2021

The Telegraph / by Pheroze L. Vincent

The leaked database showed that the mobile numbers of several accused were on a list of those selected for surveillance by an unidentified client of NSO.
The families of the Elgaar Parishad-Maoist links detainees and one of their lawyers have said the new revelations about targeted surveillance have vindicated their stand that the prolonged imprisonment of the 15 surviving accused is unjust.
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From Ambedkarites and Labour Activists to Umar Khalid and JNU Students, Snoop List Targets All

20/07/2021

The Wire / by Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta, Sukanya Shantha and Kabir Agarwal

Leaked list of potential surveillance targets indicates attempt to keep tabs on critics of government policy.
The telephone numbers of an anti-caste leader and several prominent activists are part of a leaked database accessed by the Pegasus Project which includes individuals confirmed to have been targeted with the Israel based NSO group’s spyware.
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Indian activists jailed on terrorism charges were on list with surveillance targets

20/07/2021

The Washington Post / by Joanna Slater and Niha Masih

The Bhima Koregaon activists were also victims of an unidentified hacker who planted evidence on their computers, recent reports found.
When the Indian authorities began arresting lawyers and human rights activists in 2018, Sudha Bharadwaj did what she had done for more than three decades wherever she saw injustice. She organized. She spoke out. She asked courts to uphold the law.
Later that year, the police arrested her, too.
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Cops used Pegasus in Koregaon Bhima case, says Digvijaya Singh

20/07/2021

Times of India / by Suchandana Gupta

Congress Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh on Monday told TOI TOI that Pegasus was used by police in the Koregaon Bhima case, and even his name had surfaced, but he couldn’t be implicated because he had stopped using the phone that was mentioned in the ‘Naxalite letter’.
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Phones of ministers, journalists, lawyers and activists tapped by Pegasus spyware. Indians should worry

19/07/2021

The Leaflet / by Ramesh Menon

In the days ahead, we will know more about the investigations as they will be released in parts. Clearly, there is going to be a stormy monsoon session in Parliament as opposition members will question the government’s role in the snooping scandal. These revelations, if true, bode dangerously for the health of our democracy, writes Ramesh Menon as he recaps what we know about the Pegasus hacking allegations so far.
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The 16 activists arrested in relation to the Bhima Koregaon case are victims of witch-hunt

The 16 activists arrested in relation to the Bhima Koregaon case are victims of witch-hunt

Frontline / by Anupama Katakam

The arrests and incarceration of 16 activists, known as the BK-16, on specious charges relating to the Bhima Koregaon violence case is part of the Central government’s systematic and methodical targeting of people who dissent and fight against oppression and for the causes of sections of society that a majoritarian government has no space for …
A look at the profile of each victim clearly indicates why the current regime feels threatened by their work.
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There is freedom, but no mercy

There is freedom, but no mercy

The Indian Express / by T J S George

People are getting arrested as in the days of Indira Gandhi’s Emergency.
Freedom is a funny thing. When it is there, we don’t notice it. When it is not there, we don’t notice anything else. In a country as populous as India, half the people can take their freedom for granted without knowing that the other half is denied basic freedoms. This half-half reality is the defining feature of Narendra Modiji’s India.
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Video: Jailed to Die? India’s incarcerated human rights defenders and the Covid emergeny

Video: Jailed to Die? India’s incarcerated human rights defenders and the Covid emergeny


en | 2h | 2021

By InSAF India

Public Appeal Meeting with family members of #BhimaKoregaon 16, and legal and human rights experts.

Watch video

By InSAF (June 19):
We’re Live now talking about India’s incarcerated human right defenders and the #covid emergency with @lsnul @jennyrowena @Aakar__Patel @koel_ko, Simi Korote, Shahrukh Alam and Father Xavier +++
Shahrukh Alam draws important comparison between Indian and other legal systems, noting how the Indian legal system allows for a lengthy period of detention even before the person is found guilty +++
She further notes on how recent #UAPA FIRs against political dissidents are against the right to political protest but are highly problematic in their treatment of dissidents from marginalised groups, openly criminalised and reek of islamophobia +++
Many of the speakers today pointed out, we need sustained international pressure – even for ensuring pasic rights for political detainees. Please consider signing and sharing our letter today +++
@Aakar__Patel notes how post 2014, under a majoritarian government, all minority communities have been sidelined. He further notes how this majoritarianism has resulted in specific legal implications, mostly for Muslims and other minorities +++
He also notes, “the only reason the Bhima Koregaon undertrials are still in jail is because of the state’s malice…”. Are we just going to allow our human right defenders to languish in prisons for the satisfaction of the Indian govt? We need accountability & justice! +++
Listening to Sagar Gonsalves speak about his father and his helplessness in ‘Jailed to Die? India’s incarcerated human rights defenders and the Covid emergency’ … enraging! +++
Father Xavier talks of how Father Stan Swamy, 84 year old in prison, has been criminalised for standing for the rights of the marginalised, specifically rights of tribal and adivasi communities. Shame on the Indian state! +++
Kudos to @jennyrowena for speaking so bravely about how her partner, Prof Hany Babu has challenged caste hierarchies within academia, politics and the country for which he is now being punished. She notes the disproportionate caste representation in these spaces +++
And how the only way to change this is to get freedom from the caste colony, demanding accountabilities Ty from the savarnas! She calls for the takeover of universities, legal system, political systems by Dalit-Bahujans for any hope of change in this country +++
@jennyrowena notes how her husband, prof Hany Babu had a severe eye infection in prison which has since even threatened his vision but was denied appropriate medical attention. This brutality of this legal system is horrific. We stand in solidarity with @jennyrowena & Hany Babu +++

Also Read: Prominent international figures support appeal for release of human rights defenders as India faces Covid emergency (InSAF India, June 10)

Hope Floats For Bhima Koregaon Political Prisoners After Delhi HC Order

Hope Floats For Bhima Koregaon Political Prisoners After Delhi HC Order

Hope Floats For Bhima Koregaon Political Prisoners After Delhi HC Order

16/06/2021

Outlook India / by Preetha Nair

Kin and lawyers of imprisoned activists say the ruling will help in the delivery of justice.
For the past month, Jenny Rowena has been living in a hotel in Mumbai to attend to her husband Prof Hany Babu, who is undergoing treatment for a severe eye infection in a Mumbai hospital. Babu, a Delhi University associate professor was arrested by National Investigation Agency (NIA) in July 2020 in connection with Bhima Koregaon- Elgar Parishad violence and was lodged in Navi Mumbai’s Taloja jail since then.
Babu is one of the 16 prominent activists, who are facing trial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for their alleged role in the 2018 violence and links with the outlawed CPI (Maoist) outfit. One of the high-profile cases in the country involving eminent activists, lawyers, and academicians, the Bhima Koregaon case has invited criticism of international forums for the lack of due process.
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Granting bail to activists, Delhi HC exposes abuse of UAPA – but flaws inherent in the law remain

16/06/2021

Scroll.in / by Sruthisagar Yamunan

Despite the principles set by the Delhi High Court, bail under UAPA will remain discretionary.
On Tuesday, when the Delhi High Court granted bail to Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita and Asif Iqbal Tanha in the Delhi riots cases in which the three activists have been charged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, it was this simple exercise of “lifting the veil” thrown on the case by the prosecution that has led to a significant precedent.
… As seen in several recent cases, including those against activists in the Bhima Koregaon case in Maharashtra, the trial courts, more often than not, tend to agree with the prosecution on the prima facie truth of the case.
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Wrong to treat criticism as sedition: Lawyers welcome Delhi HC verdict quashing UAPA case against activists

16/06/2021

India Today / by Aneesha Mathur

Lawyers have welcomed the decision by Delhi High Court stating that protesters have the right to criticise the government. They also hailed the Court’s verdict defining the lines between criticism of the government and activities that destabilize the country.
… Lawyer Vrinda Grover also said the HC verdict was “significant” since there has been indiscriminate use of the law in recent years… He added: “In this context, we must raise the issue of incarceration of 16 human rights defenders in the Bhima Koregaon case under UAPA for almost three years and the trial is yet to commence. The judiciary must intervene and not allow the criminal legal machinery to be used by the State to suppress fundamental freedoms of citizens, otherwise democracy is in peril.”
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Also read: Supreme Court Issues Notice On Delhi Police Appeal Against Bail Granted To Student Activists In Riots Case; Says HC Judgment Shall Not Be Treated As Precedent In Meantime (Live Law, June 18)

Bombay HC Faults Lawyer’s Article Critical of Judiciary in Stan Swamy’s Bail Case

Bombay HC Faults Lawyer’s Article Critical of Judiciary in Stan Swamy’s Bail Case

Bombay HC Faults Lawyer’s Article Critical of Judiciary in Stan Swamy’s Bail Case

04/06/2021

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

The article by one of the lawyers appearing for Hany Babu, another accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case, severely criticised the Bombay high court for refusing to grant bail to Stan Swamy.
The Bombay high court on Thursday, June 3, took exception to a lawyer writing an opinion piece in a newspaper criticising the handling of the bail plea of Father Stan Swamy by the court, and instead asked lawyers to repose faith in the judiciary.
A bench headed by Justice S.S. Shinde, while hearing Hany Babu’s interim medical bail plea in relation to the Bhima-Koregaon case, instructed lawyers not to write opinion pieces in cases in which they appear. Both Hany Babu and Stan Swamy are undertrials in the case.
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‘Keep Faith In Us’: Bombay High Court Takes Objection To Lawyer’s Article Criticizing Handling Of Stan Swamy Bail Case

04/06/2021

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

The Bombay High Court, while hearing a plea for interim medical bail for DU Associate Professor Hany Babu, took an exception to a recent editorial written by a lawyer criticizing the Court’s handling of the bail plea of octegenarian Father Stan Swamy. Both Hany Babu and Stan Swamy are undertrials in the Bhima Koregaon case.
The court witnessed dramatic scenes on Thursday after Justice SS Shinde, heading the division bench exchanged words with Advocate Yug Mohit Chaudhry regarding the editorial written by his junior.
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