pudr.org / by People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR)
Five years and five months after their arrest in the “Bhima Koregaon” case on 7 September 2020, Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor were granted bail by the Bombay High Court on 23 January 2026 and released. The detailed order that was uploaded by the court recently grants bail on grounds of delay in trial and parity with co-accused already on bail. Sagar Gorkhe and Ramesh Gaichor are cultural activists. The bail order’s importance is in its application of the consistent jurisprudence of the Supreme Court on delay and infringement of fundamental rights of prisoners. Read full statement
The Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill Perpetuates India’s Banning Regime
01/08/2025
The Wire / by Harish Dhawan and Paramjeet Singh
The Bill strikes at the heart of the fundamental right to association.
The Maharashtra assembly has passed the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill (MSPSB), making it the latest addition to a growing arsenal of banning legislations that cloak sweeping state power to curb the fundamental right to freedom of association with the language of security.
From its title to its objective and provisions, the Bill is shrouded in layers of ambiguity. Read more
Insecurity By Law: A Critique of the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill in the Context of India’s Banning Regime
July 2025
PUDR / by People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR)
The Maharashtra Bill, which has been designed specifically to target the ‘spread of Naxalism in urban areas,’ as evident in its ‘Object and Reasons’, is an offshoot of a popular narrative, a social media hashtag- the ‘Urban Naxal’, popularised by filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri.
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Particularly in the wake of Elgar Parishad in 2017, the term became a common political lexicon used to describe anti-establishment protesters and dissenting voices. The term ‘Urban Naxal’ formed the backstory for the FIR filed against the people implicated for the Bhima Koregaon case, it even became a synonym for the case itself. Read full report
Book release. Pic credits: Anuradha SenGupta / @anuradhasays
Scholar says Dr Ambedkar was great but we need to question him, not worship him
01/11/2024
Countercurrents.org / by Vidyadhar Date
This was an unusual book launch in Mumbai on October 30 where the author, a prominent human rights activist, management professor, faces restrictions on his movements because of a court order. And the audience included some of the best minds including well known poet Vara Vara Rao, who are either on bail in the Bhima Koregaon case or their movements are restricted too. The author is Anand Teltumbde and the book is “Iconoclast – a reflective biography of Babasaheb Ambedkar”. Read more
Anand Teltumbde’s new book unravels the man behind the Babasaheb Ambedkar
31/10/2024
Hindustan Times / by Sabah Virani
Teltumbde recalled his initial hesitation when approached by Penguin in August 2018 to write Ambedkar’s biography, sharing his thoughts at the book’s launch on Wednesday evening at the Mumbai Press Club. The event, held a month after the book’s release, was delayed not by choice but by bail restrictions confining Teltumbde to Mumbai and Goa
An iconoclast, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is someone who destroys religious images or challenges their veneration. It’s also the fitting title of the latest biography of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, written by Anand Teltumbde—a professor, activist, and undertrial. His book seeks to unravel the complexities of Ambedkar, a towering figure in Indian history. Read more
The author of ‘Iconoclast: A Reflective Biography of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’ on why BR Ambedkar stands out, common misconceptions about him, and the lessons that young Dalits must take from his life and teachings
… Post Elgar Parishad which even led to your incarceration, what challenges do you observe for activists and the Dalit community at large to mobilise and make specific demands to attain better standards of living?
Anand Teltumbde: It is not just the Dalit community; mobilizing people for any cause has become nearly impossible, except for religious gatherings that serve as proxies for regime support or superficial political sloganeering that merely legitimizes the claim that democracy is still intact. Read full interview
Also read:
▪ Iconoclast. A Reflective Biography of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar
by Anand Teltumbde
Draconian Laws Promoting Authoritarian Rule Should Be Repealed
19/05/2024
Peoples Democracy / by G Ramakrishnan CPI(M)
… After BJP came to power in 2014, the situation in our country has gone from bad to worse. The situation now is akin to an undeclared emergency. The last ten years of the Modi government have seen unprecedented attack on democracy and democratic rights. The lawless laws, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), National Security Act (NSA), Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the central Agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED), CBI and Income Tax department have been used to target the leaders of the opposition parties and those who criticise and oppose the policies of the Modi government at the centre. Read more
PUDR expresses relief at the Supreme Court’s granting of bail to Prof. Shoma Sen on April 5, after nearly six long years of pre-trial incarceration. Charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the infamous Bhima Koregaon (BK) conspiracy case, Shoma Sen is the fourth accused to be released on ‘bail on merits’ by the Supreme Court, after Anand Teltumbde, Vernon Gonsalves, and Arun Ferreira. Read full statement
‘Never Adjusted Your Stand’: 9 Elgar Accused Congratulate Anand Teltumbde From Jail
05/02/2024
The Wire / by The Wire Staff
Their co-accused who is out on bail, Teltumbde has been conferred the Basava National Award – Karnataka’s highest honour.
… Although a few have been granted bail on medical and technical grounds, nine remain behind bars at Byculla and Taloja prisons in Maharashtra. The latter have written a congratulatory letter to co-accused Dr Anand Teltumbde, on his being given the Karnataka government’s highest award, the Basava Award.
The letter, which the prisoners released through their lawyers, is being produced below. Read more
‘A small streak of light’: Seven BK prisoners congratulate Anand Teltumbde on award
04/02/2024
Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff
The writer, who is on bail in the same case, was honoured with the Basava Award by the Karnataka government on January 31.
The seven people who are still in jail in the Bhima Koregaon case have congratulated their co-accused Anand Teltumbde for having been granted the Karnataka government’s Basava Award on January 31 and pushing “forward the wheel of democratic revolution of annihilating the caste system”. Read more
pudr.org / Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR)
PUDR welcomes the Bombay High Court order granting regular bail to Gautam Navlakha, a well-known civil rights activist, author, and journalist, on December 19, 2023. The two-member bench comprising Justices AS Gadkari and Shivkumar Dige ruled that based on a perusal of the documents presented, there was no material evidence to infer Gautam Navlakha’s involvement in terrorist acts as shown in the chargesheet against him under sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by the National Investigating Agency (NIA). Read full statement
Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves were released after 5 years in jail!
Join our discussion on their bail order and to understand its implications! How can we advocate for the release of all political prisoners arrested under UAPA?
Discussing the Supreme Court’s decision in granting bail to activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferriera accused in connection with the Elgaar Parishad case, members from People’s Union for Civil Liberties said the bail order has significant implications for bail jurisprudence under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, UAPA, in the framework of criminal law.
The members highlighted the top court’s bail-granting powers under the UAPA, which flows from the Zahood Ahmad Watali judgment. Read more
en | 1h 42min | 2022
The discussion moderated by PUCL General Secretary, V Suresh, Arvind Narrain, VP Karnataka State PUCL and Kavita Srivastava, National Secretary PUCL Watch video (PUCL fb page)
PUDR welcomes the release on bail of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira today, but protests onerous bail conditions
05/08/2023
pudr.org / by Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR))
People’s Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) welcomes the Supreme Court order granting bail on merits and release of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, two of the accused in the infamous Bhima Koregaon case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
In a significant judgement, on 28 July 2023, the top court granted bail for two primary reasons: the fact that the accused had already been incarcerated for 5 years with the trial not having commenced yet, and that the NIA had been unable to justify, even prima facie, the allegations against them.
… However, what is even more disturbing is that the apex court has allowed for further conditions to be set by the special trial court, conditions that the latter may “consider fit and proper”. Accordingly, on July 31, the special NIA court has set further conditions which prohibit the duo from: Read full statement:
