The accused, Surendra Gadling and Arun Ferreira, were permitted by the court on January 23 to use computers twice a week and software to view documents submitted by the National Investigation Agency as evidence.
Nearly three months after a special court directed authorities at Taloja Central Prison to permit two accused in the Elgaar Parishad case, who are lawyers representing themselves, use of computers twice a week and necessary software to view evidence, they informed the court on Thursday that prison officials had not complied with the order. Read more
In the application, Gadling detailed his right to appear in person and the tedious process of in-person visits for undertrial prisoners.
On April 10, 2023, a division Bench of the Bombay High Court, comprising Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Sharmila Deshmukh, recused itself from hearing an appeal by human rights lawyer and Dalit rights activist Surendra Gadling for the grant of default bail. With its recent change in assignments, the high court is yet to decide on Gadling’s application to appear in person and allow his production before the high court, where his appeal for grant of default bail is pending. The application was sent by Gadling from Taloja jail in November 2022. Read more
51- year-old Gadling, a well-known criminal lawyer in Nagpur, was once a cultural activist, who sang songs of political resistance. The 11- minutes- long rendition tells you what it means to be incarcerated in Indian prisons. From food, water, to medical care, everything is a struggle, Gadling narrates. The song was recorded by one of Gadling’s colleagues and was made available to The Wire after obtaining his consent. Watch video
Podcast: How are women treated in Indian prisons | Teesta Setalvad | Sudha Bhardwaj | Sokalo Gond
Episode 18 of CJP’s Podcast Series RightsCast
How does the Indian Prison system strip the women inmates of their basic rights and dignity? In a patriarchal society, within a prison system that’s designed to focus on male inmates, how do female prisoners navigate their incarceration?
Listen to this in-depth podcast on the conditions of women inmates in India’s prisons where human rights activists, Adivasi leaders, student activists, lawyers and citizens-in-resistance share stories of horror and explore the plight of women in prison. Listen to the podcast
Video: Being inside the Jail is a dehumanising experience | Sudha Bharadwaj | QUAID KE PARE
By Citizens for Justice and Peace hindi | 3:13min Watch video
Video: Healthcare and Mental Health inside Prison | Sudha Bharadwaj | QUAID KE PARE
By Citizens for Justice and Peace hindi | 5:51min Watch video
Also watch/read:
● Video: The Conditions of Prisoners in Indian Jails
By All India Lawyers’ Association for Justice – AILAJ / March 2022
en | 1:21:23 | 2022
The huge number of undertrials, the overcrowding, and the disproportional numbers of Dalit, Muslim and Adivasi prisoners are part of the prison problem in India.
We are joined by Adv. Sudha Bharadwaj for a discussion on the Conditions of Prisoners in Indian Jails. Watch video
Jenny Rowena, the wife of jailed Delhi University professor Hany Babu, laments the situation of prisons in India and accuses that, as a society, we failed to have a social ethos that never undermines prisoners’ rights.
While talking to Maktoob‘s Shaheen Abdulla, she emphasized that medical negligence in prisons has led to serious conditions for Babu, who is booked under UAPA in the Elgar Parishad Bhima Koregaon case. Watch video
The ugly face of justice: Anand Teltumbde reviews Abdul Wahid Shaikh’s ‘Innocent Prisoners’
The book exposes a sinister modus operandi of the police of charging innocent Muslims for terror acts, which is structurally made easier in India. “The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.”
– Milan Kundera, ‘The Book of Laughter and Forgetting’.
What if the state that is supposed to have been created by the people, the real sovereign as the constitution proclaims, turns into a monster that devours them? What if the police, vested with the responsibility of protecting people with law and order, turns into an organised gang of criminals supported by the state, conspire against innocent people, arrest them, torture them, and kill them with impunity? Read more
Anybody dissenting will be treated in this manner: Father Frazer Mascarenhas
In November 2021, the Bombay High Court allowed Father (Dr) Frazer Mascarenhas, SJ, to approach the court to clear the name of Father Stan Swamy, the oldest of the 16 Bhima Koregaon accused, who died in hospital in July 2021 …
Known to speak freely and stand by his principles, Father Frazer, who is now the parish priest at a Mumbai church, tells Rediff.com Senior Contributor Neeta Kolhatkar, “It seems to be a culture now. Anybody dissenting will be treated in this manner. No human rights… It is not limited to any one political party. The evidence shows that a group of political parties seem to be using this in an extensive and deliberate manner.”
Court Issues Notice in Surendra Gadling’s Contempt Plea Against Prison Officials
17/01/2023
The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha
The human rights lawyer, an accused in the Elgar Parishad case, claims that despite favourable court orders, the prison officials have blocked his access to hospitals, worsening his health condition further.
Surendra Gadling, a human rights lawyer and an arrested accused in the Elgar Parishad case, has been ailing with multiple health issues, including serious cardiac issues and psychiatric disorders. Over the past year, he has made multiple applications before the court seeking adequate medical care. And despite favourable court orders, the prison officials have allegedly blocked his access to hospitals, worsening his health condition further. Read more
Court issues notice to Taloja jail superintent for not taking Surendra Gadling to hospital
14/01/2023
The Hindu / by Sonam Saigal
Although the court had directed that Mr. Gadling be referred to JJ Hospital, and he was due to recieve psychiatric treatment follow-up on February 20, 2022, he was not taken to hospital until June 6, he alleged
A sessions court at Gadchiroli has issued a notice to the Superintendent and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Taloja Central Jail, with regards to their failure to take advocate Surendra Gadling to hospital last year, even three months after being directed to do so by the court. Mr. Gadling is an accused in the Bhima Koregaon caste violence case of 2018. Read more
Also watch:
● Video: The Prison Song of Surendra Gadling
hindi | 11min | 2021
The Wire / lyrics by Ramesh Gaichor
51- year-old Gadling, a well-known criminal lawyer in Nagpur, was once a cultural activist, who sang songs of political resistance. The 11- minutes- long rendition tells you what it means to be incarcerated in Indian prisons. From food, water, to medical care, everything is a struggle, Gadling narrates. The song was recorded by one of Gadling’s colleagues and was made available to The Wire after obtaining his consent. Watch video
Court asks Taloja jail authorities again to take steps to keep prison mosquito-free
Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaychor. Poster by #bakeryprasad
Court asks Taloja jail to follow order on tackling mosquito menace
22/12/2022
Free Press Journal / by Staff Reporter
A special court has directed Taloja jail authorities to conduct periodic fumigation, spray insecticides and take necessary precautions to keep the jail premises free of mosquitoes.
A special court has directed Taloja jail authorities to conduct periodic fumigation, spray insecticides and take necessary precautions to keep the jail premises free of mosquitoes. The direction came in response to a plea by Bhima-Koregaon case accused Sagar Gorkhe who sought a mosquito net and an explanation by jail authorities for dereliction of duty in not following the court’s July order giving directions to tackle the mosquito menace. Read more
Court asks Taloja jail authorities again to take steps to keep prison mosquito-free
22/12/2022
The Indian Express / by Express News Service
Rejects plea by Elgaar Parishad accused asking for mosquito net.
In a recent order, a special court again directed Taloja jail authorities to take necessary steps to keep the prison premises mosquito free. The court was responding to a plea by Sagar Gorkhe, an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case. However, the court did not allow his plea for a mosquito net. Read more
The country’s jails teem with poor and marginalised people detained without justification.
Since there was no one to furnish a Rs.30,000 surety bond, Jai Parkash, 47, spent over 22 years in judicial custody without a trial. On November 21, Parkash, a stout man with swollen hands and a puffy face, was finally released on bail as part of the remissions granted under “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav”.
… Quoting the Prison Statistics India report, Raghavan said: “Nearly 85 to 90 per cent of prisoners are SCs, STs, OBCs and Muslims. There is no data available on their socio-economic background, but our work with prison populations in Maharashtra shows that more than 60 per cent have a monthly family income less than Rs. 10,000. Read more
● Video: The Conditions of Prisoners in Indian Jails
By All India Lawyers’ Association for Justice – AILAJ / March 2022
en | 1:21:23 | 2022
The huge number of undertrials, the overcrowding, and the disproportional numbers of Dalit, Muslim and Adivasi prisoners are part of the prison problem in India.
We are joined by Adv. Sudha Bharadwaj for a discussion on the Conditions of Prisoners in Indian Jails. Watch video
● Video: The Prison Song of Surendra Gadling
By The Wire hindi | 11min | 2021
In August, when human rights lawyer Surendra Gadling was released on interim bail for a week, he made a quick visit to the Nagpur sessions court to meet his colleagues and friends. 51- year-old Gadling, a well-known criminal lawyer in Nagpur, was once a cultural activist, who sang songs of political resistance. The 11- minutes-long rendition tells you what it means to be incarcerated in Indian prisons. From food, water, to medical care, everything is a struggle, Gadling narrates. Watch video
Eminent trade union activist Sudha Bhardwaj was released on 9 December 2021 after being in jail for three years. She is not allowed to go out of Mumbai. How has this one year been for her, Chhattisgarh has been the field of work, the regret of not being able to go there, what were her experiences in jail, what were the challenges of being a trade union leader as a woman. Workers’ Unity talked to him in detail on these subjects. Watch video
● Video: The Conditions of Prisoners in Indian Jails
By All India Lawyers’ Association for Justice – AILAJ / March 2022
en | 1:21:23 | 2022
The huge number of undertrials, the overcrowding, and the disproportional numbers of Dalit, Muslim and Adivasi prisoners are part of the prison problem in India.
We are joined by Adv. Sudha Bharadwaj for a discussion on the Conditions of Prisoners in Indian Jails. Watch video
● Sudha Bharadwaj speaks – A Life in Law and Activism
Publisher: Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)
Edition: January 2021
Language: English
Sudha Bharadwaj’s interview by: Darshana Mitra and Santanu Chakraborty
Pictures credit: PUCL
Cover Design / Layout: Vinay Jain
Paperback: 316 pages
Access a free PDF copy of the book here: Sudha_Bharadwaj_speaks (2,1 MB)
