Mahesh Raut – Page 7 – free them all

NIA opposes Mahesh Raut’s bail plea in Bombay High Court

27/06/2023 Asha

NIA opposes Mahesh Raut’s bail plea in Bombay HC

27/06/2023

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

A division bench of Justices Ajey S Gadkari and Shivkumar G Dige posted the hearing on Mahesh Raut’s bail application to July 12.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) opposed a regular bail plea by Elgaar Parishad case accused Mahesh Raut in the Bombay High Court saying there is sufficient material evidence against Raut to show his involvement in the crime for offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and his bail plea was rightly rejected by the special NIA court earlier.
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Bail not justiciable for Bhima Koregaon accused Mahesh Raut, his acts were against interest of society: NIA to Bombay High Court

27/06/2023

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

NIA stated in its affidavit that it found evidence to show that the proscribed Communist Party of India (Maoist) had given Raut ₹5 lakh.
It is not justifiable for an accused under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) to seek bail on constitutional grounds when his acts are against the interests of the State and society, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has told the Bombay High Court.
Through an affidavit filed this week, the agency opposed the regular bail plea filed by Mahesh Raut, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case of 2018. Raut sought bail invoking Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India.
… A Bench of Justices AS Gadkari and SG Dige posted Raut’s bail for hearing on July 12.
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NIA Opposes Bail Plea of Bhima Koregaon Case Accused Mahesh Raut, Citing Anti-State Acts

27/06/2023

Free Press Journal / by Urvi Mahajani

The NIA argues that seeking relief on constitutional grounds is unfounded when the accused’s actions themselves are against the welfare of the state and society.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has vehemently opposed the bail plea of Mahesh Raut, an accused in the Elgar Parishad – Bhima Koregaon case, arguing that it is unjustifiable for someone charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) to seek bail on constitutional grounds when their actions are contrary to the interests of the State and society.
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Also read:
● 4 accused seek bail from Bombay HC on parity with Sudha Bharadwaj (India Today / March 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 / June 2017)

Who are the acclaimed ‘BK-16’? / HRDs and families await justice, five years down

22/06/2023 Asha

HRDs and families await justice, five years down

22/06/2023

cjp / by Sabah Maharaj

Faulty investigation and severe loopholes in investigation, surrounds the controversial BK-16 case. International outcry has not helped move the trial five years down even while the targeted languish, families await the return of their loved ones
In June 2021, European Union parliamentarians, Nobel Laureates, renowned academics, and internationally known figures wrote a letter to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, the then Chief Justice of India as well as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and other authorities in India, demanding to the release of political prisoners arrested with relation to the Elgar Parishad and Bhima Koregaon incident.
Amidst contested accusations of an anti-India conspiracy, militancy, and violence, five long years have passed since the BK-16 have been imprisoned without trial.
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Who are the acclaimed ‘BK-16’?

22/06/2023

cjp / by CJP Team

Five years have passed, and human rights defenders (HRDs) and their families continue to await justice.

Surendra Gadling
Status: Detained without trial
Charges:Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) since June 2018
Location: Taloja Central Prison, Mumbai
Gadling is a human rights lawyer and a Dalit activist. Over time, Gadling established himself as a keen advocate and a key figure in cases related to extrajudicial killings, police misconduct, false accusations, and injustices against Dalits and Adivasis in the region…
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Also read:
● Five years behind bars for five activists – Without bail, without charges being framed, without justice! – Various statements

Five years behind bars for five activists – Without bail, without charges being framed, without justice!

06/06/2023 Asha

Five years behind bars for five activists – Without bail, without charges being framed, without justice!

06/06/2023

By Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR)

Five years behind bars for five activists
Without bail, without charges being framed, without justice!
Release all 15-surviving accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.
June 6, 2023 will mark five years that five activists are behind bars. They include Mahesh Raut, an anti-displacement campaigner, Rona Wilson, a political prisoners’ campaigner, Shoma Sen, a feminist activist and professor, Sudhir Dhawale, a Dalit rights activist and Surendra Gadling, a lawyer who takes people’s rights cases pro-bono.
Read full statement

Five Years Since The First Arrests In Bhima-Koregaon Case

06/06/2023

Countercurrents.org / by Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisation (CDRO)

6th June 2018. The nation’s conscience suffered yet another attack by the arrests of leading intellectuals and democratic rights activists by the Pune police in connection with the so-called Bhima-Koregaon (BK) case. These arrests snowballed into a series of arrests in subsequent months. Five years have passed, and barring a few activists out on bail, the arrested persons are still languishing in jail without a charge sheet being filed. Through this statement, the CDRO once again tries to remember the incidents leading to these arrests and subsequent events; so that people can unite in a struggle for the release of the BK-16 and the repeal of draconian laws.
Read full statement

Five years of Bhima Koregaon arrests: CDRO marks ‘black day’

06/06/2023

The Leaflet / by Sarah Thanawala

It was on this day in 2018 that five activists were first arrested by the Pune police in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad Maoist links and criminal conspiracy case. To mark this day, and by means of highlighting the plight of the arrested persons, the Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisation and People’s Union for Democratic Rights have issued press statements demanding the immediate release of all the persons behind bars in connection with the case.
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CASR: Release activists incarcerated in Bhima Koregaon Case

07/06/2023

Countercurrents.org / by Campaign Against State Repression

June 6th became a day of one of the most audacious attack by the Brahmanical Hindutva Fascist state on the Democratic rights and political activists and began new era of rampant use of UAPA and conspiracy cases, which was, although known to the working class, the peasantry and the oppressed, have been largely unknown to the Urban democratic movement. June 6th, 2018 marks the first arrest in the infamous Bhima Koregaon ‘Conspiracy’ case, after series of raids in April 2018. The police arrested Sudhir Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Rona Wilson, Shoma Sen and Mahesh Raut.
Read full statement

Five years after arrest, Bhima Koregaon case accused yet to get copies of proof against them

05/06/2023

The Hindu / by Sonam Saigal

Special Public Prosecutor rubbished the allegation and said most of the material have been shared with them
It has been six years since Sudhir Dhawale, an activist; Surendra Gadling, a criminal lawyer practising in Nagpur; Shoma Sen, professor and Head of Department, English at Nagpur University; activists Rona Wilson and Mahesh Raut were arrested in the caste-based violence that broke out at Bhima Koregaon in Pune in 2017.
Read more

Also read:
● Bhima Koregaon: Who’s who of those arrested & the developments in the case pertaining to each (The Leaflet / June 2022)
● Marking three years since the first arrest (The Leaflet / June 2021)
● Two years of Bhima Koregaon Arrests (The Leaflet / June 2020)
● What has happened to the five activists who were arrested a year ago (Scroll.in / June 2019)
● IAPL press note about arrest of Advocate Gadling & other people’s activists (Sanhati / June 2018)

Fourth Drone Bomb Attack on Indigenous People in Bastar, Chhattisgarh

18/04/2023 Asha

IndiaMatters UK / by over 60 international organisations and individual campaigners, activists and academics

Fourth Drone Bomb Attack on Indigenous People in Bastar, Chhattisgarh
Stop This State Terror Now!

Press Note

Indigenous (Adivasi) people in Bijapur district of Bastar, in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh, have been traumatised by yet another aerial bomb attack from the security forces which have been using drones to carry out these operations. Although the Indian Air Force is not officially deployed for combat in Chhattisgarh, the repeated use of aerial bombardment on civilian populations suggests a new dimension to the state terror being inflicted on the Adivasi population of Bastar for years.
… Social activists who have been speaking out against this injustice have also ended up in prisons … there are the well known sixteen democratic rights activists falsely implicated in what has come to be known as the Bhima Koregaon case. These sixteen were locked in prison between 2018 and 2020 on the basis of an essentially fabricated case prepared by the notorious National Investigative Agency against them under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
Read full statement

Also read:
▪ Security forces’ operations in adivasi areas compared with Russia-Ukraine war (Counterview.net / April 2022)
▪ In Jharkhand, Scheduled Tribes Still Battle Flimsy Criminal Cases Filed With Little Evidence (Indiaspend.com / Oct 2021)
▪ Gadling in jail. Reason? As lawyer-activist he has been ‘unpleasant’ to India’s topcops (Counterview.net / Dec 2020)
▪ Gadchiroli’s 300 Gram Sabhas Pass Resolution in Support of Activist Mahesh Raut (The Wire / Oct 2018)
▪ Condemn the State Sponsored Massacre Scripted as ‘Encounter’ in Gadchiroli and Bijapur in Central India (wssnet.wordpress.com / May 2018)
▪ How corporate land grab is sought to be legitimized in Chhattisgarh by misusing legal framework (Kractivism │ by Sudhy Bharadwaj │ Feb 2018)

Justice Revati Mohite Dere of Bombay HC recuses from hearing bail plea of Mahesh Raut, 3 others

30/03/2023 Asha

By Bar & Bench (March 30):
Bench of Justice Revati Mohite Dere of Bombay High Court recuses from hearing default bail pleas of Bhima Koregoan accused Mahesh Raut and 3 others.

Justice Revati Mohite Dere of Bombay HC recuses from hearing bail plea of Mahesh Raut, others

30/03/2023

India Legal / by India Legal

Justice Revati Mohite Dere of Bombay High Court on Thursday recused herself from hearing the default bail petitions of Mahesh Raut and three others, who were arrested for their alleged involvement in the Elgar Parishad Maoists links case of 2018.
Earlier on March 1, the High Court had issued notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on the default bail plea of Raut, Sudhir Dhawale, Shoma Sen and Rona Wilson, who were arrested on June 6, 2018 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Read more

Also Read:
● 4 accused seek bail from Bombay HC on parity with Sudha Bharadwaj (India Today / March 2023)

Bombay High Court seeks NIA response to plea by Raut, Sen, Wilson and Dhawale for default bail

01/03/2023 Asha

Bombay High Court seeks NIA response to plea by 4 accused for default bail

01/03/2023

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The four accused have challenged an order of a special NIA court rejecting their default bail pleas. They sought parity with Sudha Bharadwaj, a co-accused who was granted default bail by the High Court in 2021.
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on a plea for default bail filed by four persons accused in the Bhima Koregaon case [Mahesh Raut & 4 others v. National Investigation Agency].
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4 accused seek bail from Bombay HC on parity with Sudha Bharadwaj

02/03/2023

India Today / by Vidya

Four accused in the Elgar Parishad case sought bail in the Bombay High Court on parity with Sudha Bharadwaj, who was granted default bail in 2021 in the same case.
The Bombay High Court has issued notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and sought a reply to the bail petition of four Elgar Parishad accused – Mahesh Raut, Sudhir Dhawale, Shoma Sen and Rona Wilson.
Read more

Also read:
● NIA special court rejects default bail application of five accused (The Leaflet / June 2022)
● Bombay HC grants default bail to Sudha Bharadwaj, but declines the same to eight other accused (The Leaflet / Dec 2021)

Bhima Koregaon Accused (BK16) | 1 Dead, 1 on House Arrest, 3 on Bail: What of the Rest?

30/11/2022 Asha

The Quint / by Rohini Roy

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

Also read:
● As Bhima Koregaon case completes its fourth anniversary, State reprisal is writ large in its twists and turns (The Leaflet / June 2022)
● Bhima Koregaon: Who’s who of those arrested and the developments in the case pertaining to each (The Leaflet / June 2022)

Will the bail granted to Anand Teltumbde help others in the case to get out of jail?

28/11/2022 Asha

Will the bail granted to Anand Teltumbde help others in the Bhima Koregaon case to get out of jail?

28/11/2022

Scroll.in / by Umang Poddar

This is the first bail in the case granted on merits. But experts say that the case of each Bhima Koregaon accused will have to be considered individually.
On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld Bombay High Court’s November 18 order granting bail to Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case. Teltumbde is the first person accused in the matter to be granted bail on the merits of the case. Previously, others in the case have got bail only on medical grounds or due to procedural lapses by the investigating agency.
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Supreme Court’s Widely- Praised Bail for Anand Teltumbde should be Followed by Wider Justice in Elgar Case

28/11/2022

Countercurrents.org / by Bharat Dogra

Supreme Court’s firmness in upholding the Bombay High Court’s order granting bail to Anand Teltumbde has been widely appreciated. However, we must also listen to what this 73 year old distinguished scholar activist, coming out after spending 31 months in prison, had to stay regarding the case in which several other distinguished activists have also been implicated: “the sad thing is that this is the fakest case and it put us behind us behind bar for years.”
The reference here was of course to the notorious Elgar Parishad case which has been attracting strong criticism from several human rights and democracy activists during the last few years.
Read more

Also read:
● Bhima Koregaon: Who’s who of those arrested and the developments in the case pertaining to each (The Leaflet / June 2022)

Statement by CASR: Release Saibaba and Others / Mining in Gadchiroli

19/10/2022 Asha

Countercurrents.org / by Campaign Against State Repression

Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) Strongly condemns the Supreme Court’s order to suspend the Acquittal of Saibaba and Others in Gadchiroli case pertaining to alleged ‘Maoist link’.
… They want to keep in jail, every voice that foisted the state’s attempt to militarily loot the people of their resources and livelihood through Operation Green-Hunt, which Saibaba and other’s jailed in Gadchiroli case and Bhima Koregaon case have strongly resisted. They want to do so to continue the exploitation of people and their resources in far off Central Indian Regions, in North Eastern states, Kashmir and everywhere. This is not just an attack on Saibaba and others, but a clear sign of continuing and ever sharpening attack on all involved in the struggle for a democratic society.
Read full statement

Also read:
● Appeal to Supreme Court of India to review and reconsider Saibaba’s and Others Case (Countercurrents.org / by Defense Committee for the Release of Saibaba / Oct 18, 2022)
● Gadchiroli’s 300 Gram Sabhas Pass Resolution in Support of Activist Mahesh Raut (The Wire / Oct 2018)
● DISINHERITING ADIVASIS – THE GADCHIROLI GAME PLAN (KAFILA / June 2018)
● Mining In Gadchiroli – Building A Castle Of Injustices (Countercurrents / June 2017)

Day to day hearing of discharge applications in Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad case begins

27/09/2022 Asha

Day to day hearing of discharge applications in Elgar Parishad case begins

28/09/2022

India Today / by Vidya

A special National Investigation Agency court in Mumbai began a day-to-day hearing of four discharge applications filed by the Elgar Parishad.
Highlights
▪ Mumbai’s special National Investigation Agency court began a day-to-day hearing in Elgar Parishad case
▪ The court to hear four discharge applications filed by the accused
▪ Three more discharge applications were filed on Tuesday
… Procedurally, courts hear the discharge applications, and if it finds no material against the accused in the charge sheet filed by the investigators, it discharges the accused.
However, if the court finds substantial evidence, the discharge plea gets rejected, and a full-fledged trial ensues.
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Bhima Koregaon case trial process begins over four years after case was registered

28/09/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

An NIA court started hearing a discharge plea filed by Sudhir Dhawale, one of the accused persons.
A Mumbai court on Tuesday started hearing the first of the seven discharge applications filed by accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon case, Bar and Bench reported. The hearing marks the beginning of the trial process in the case four years after it was filed in 2018.
The development came after the Supreme Court, on August 19, ordered a National Investigation Agency court to decide on framing charges against the accused persons within three months.
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Mumbai Court begins hearing discharge applications of accused

28/09/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The Court also rejected an application filed by octogenarian P Varavara Rao seeking permission to live in Hyderabad for 3 months in order to conduct cataract surgery.
A Mumbai court on Tuesday began hearing the first of the seven discharge applications filed by the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case of 2018.
The hearing on discharge is the first step towards framing of charges, thus, kick-starting the trial in the case which has been pending in the pre-trial stage since 2018.
This development comes in compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court in August asking the special court to decide on framing of charges within 3 months.
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Three more accused, including activist Navlakha, seek discharge in Elgar case

27/09/2022

The New Indian Express / by pti

While Navlakha and Babu are currently in jail under judicial custody, Bharadwaj is out on bail.
Activists Gautam Navlakha, Sudha Bharadwaj and Delhi University professor Hany Babu, all accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, on Tuesday moved discharge applications before the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court here …
Meanwhile, the court on Tuesday heard the arguments on the discharge plea of another accused, Sudhir Dhawale. The arguments will continue on Wednesday …
The discharge pleas of some other accused – Jyoti Jagtap, Anand Teltumbde and Mahesh Raut – were also pending before the court.
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