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Protecting the Protectors: AILAJ Demands Advocates Protection Act

Protecting the Protectors: AILAJ Demands Advocates Protection Act

Credits: Drawing by Arun Ferreira / The Polis Project

The Mooknayak / by Mooknayak English

Lawyers demand protection from harassment, sexism, and state repression as AILAJ finalizes draft Advocates’ Protection Bill after month-long campaign.
All India Lawyers Association of Justice (AILAJ) Delhi culminated its month-long campaign for the enactment of an Advocates’ Protection Act in a state-level consultation held on 12 April at the Press Club of India. …
Advocate Rohin Bhatt … urged that the Bill must have provisions that discourage the state from maliciously prosecuting lawyers, as it has done to lawyers like Sudha Bhardwaj and Surendra Gadling in the Bhima Koregaon case.
Read more

Also read/watch:
▪ How These Lawyers Worked Tirelessly To Free Saibaba (Rediff.com / March 2024)
▪ Maharashtra: Activists, Lawyers Added to ‘Union War Book’, Listed as ‘Enemies of the State’ (The Wire / Jul 2021)
▪ Lawyers Withstood Pressures and Defended Activists in the Bhima Koregaon Case (The Leaflet / Jan 2021)

▪ 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

SC adjourns bail pleas of Jyoti Jagtap, Mahesh Raut and Surendra Gadling

SC adjourns bail pleas of Jyoti Jagtap, Mahesh Raut and Surendra Gadling

Supreme Court adjourns bail pleas of Surendra Gadling and Jyoti Jagtap

27/03/2025

The Hindu / by pti

The Supreme Court also deferred hearing on the petition filed by the NIA challenging the bail granted to activist Mahesh Raut
The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned by two weeks hearing on the bail plea of advocate Surendra Gadling and activist Jyoti Jagtap arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal also deferred hearing on the petition filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) challenging the bail granted to activist Mahesh Raut.
Read more

by Bar & Bench (March 27):
The Supreme Court adjourns for two weeks the bail plea of Bhima Koregaon accused Jyoti Jagtap and Mahesh Raut, who are facing allegations of links with banned Maoist groups

The matter was listed today before a bench comprising Justices M.M. Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal.

by Bar & Bench (March 27)
The Supreme Court adjourns for two weeks the bail plea of Dalit rights activist and lawyer Surendra Gadling, who has been in jail since June 2018 under the UAPA for his alleged involvement in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence and his connection to the 2016 Gadchiroli Arson Case.

The matter was listed today before a bench comprising Justices M.M. Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal.

Also read:
▪ SC adjourns bail pleas of Surendra Gadling, Jyoti Jagtap in Bhima Koregaon case (Scroll.in / Feb 2025)
▪ The Supreme Court Is Making Bail Easier In Terrorism, Money Laundering Cases – Except When It Ignores Itself (article 14 / Sep 2024)
▪ SC gives Maha govt two weeks time to respond to lawyer Surendra Gadling’s bail plea (Daijiworld / Dec 2024)
▪ Year after being granted bail, Mahesh Raut remains in jail as stay extended (The Indian Express / Sep 2024)
▪ SC adjourns hearing on bail plea of Bhima Koregaon case accused Jyoti Jagtap (Hindustan Times / Jul 2024)

How an unsophisticated malware attack became India’s biggest state-sponsored cybercrime / Online Conversation

How an unsophisticated malware attack became India’s biggest state-sponsored cybercrime / Online Conversation

The Polis Project / by Mouli Sharma and Prashant Rahi

This is the third report in a three-part investigative series on the Elgar Parishad/Bhima Koregaon case. Read part one here and part two here.

In October 2014, five months after the arrest of the professor GN Saibaba, Stan Swamy’s computer was hacked. Unbeknown to the world, the nascent stages of investigation against the prime accused in the Elgar Parishad case, who came to be monikered the BK-16, had already begun in 2014 – four years before any of the arrests even took place.
The unknown attacker used a Remote Access Trojan – or RAT – sent through targeted phishing emails to compromise Swamy’s computer.
Read more
 

Dispatches: A Conversation on unravelling the Elgar Parishad / Bhima Koregaon case

With Prashant Rahi, Mouli Sharma and Arshu John
By The Polis Project / @project_polis
en | 49min | 2025
Listen to the recording on X Spaces Live

Also read:
▪ Incriminating evidence planted in computers: The Trojan solved the Bhima Koregaon case! (Anchored Narratives / Jan 2023)
▪ Hackers Planted Files to Frame an Indian Priest Who Died in Custody (Wired / Dec 2022)
▪ Police Linked to Hacking Campaign to Frame Indian Activists (Wired / June 2022)
▪ Leaked Data Shows Surveillance Net in Elgar Parishad Case May Have Crossed a Line (The Wire / July 2021)
▪ They were Accused of plotting to overthrow the Modi government – The evidence was planted, a new report says (Washington Post / Feb 2021)
▪ Why the letter about a ‘Rajiv Gandhi-type’ assassination plot to kill Modi is fake (Dailyo.in │ by Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves │ Jun 11, 2018)

In Taloja Central Jail, interviews with over 300 undertrial prisoners show denial of rights

In Taloja Central Jail, interviews with over 300 undertrial prisoners show denial of rights

The Leaflet / by Hany Babu and Surendra Gadling

The Supreme Court’s reassurance that video-conferencing improves access to courtrooms misses a crucial point. Through interviews with over 300 prisoners in the Taloja Central Jail, two of India’s foremost civil rights activists reveal how the producing of accused through video-conferencing, and the State’s continual excuse of insufficient police personnel, sustains an architecture of injustice, ripping apart the lives of India’s prisoners.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Many Prisoners at Taloja Jail Not Produced Before Court For Years, Reveals Survey by Surendra Gadling and Sagar Gorkhe (The Wire / Feb 2025)

Who Is a ‘Political Prisoner’? Rona Wilson Says Caste and Religion Are Key to the Answer

Who Is a ‘Political Prisoner’? Rona Wilson Says Caste and Religion Are Key to the Answer

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

Having spent six and a half years in jail, the Elgar Parishad accused also said that prisons in India are in a ‘state of emergency’.
Rona Wilson has long been an advocate for prisoners’ rights and a staunch proponent of the term “political prisoner”. However, during his prolonged incarceration in the Elgar Parishad case, Rona found himself grappling with a “moral quandary”.
With new firsthand experiences, observations from his six-and-a-half-year stay in two central prisons in Maharashtra – Yerwada in Pune and Taloja in Navi Mumbai – his activism while incarcerated, and research conducted within the confines of prison, 53-year-old Rona now views the term from a different perspective. He now approaches the subject with a deliberate focus on caste and religious dimensions.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Many Prisoners at Taloja Jail Not Produced Before Court For Years, Reveals Survey by Surendra Gadling and Sagar Gorkhe (The Wire / Feb 2025)
▪ Punished without trial: How India’s political prisoners are being denied basic rights in jail (Scroll.in / Aug 2022)

▪ From Phansi Yard: My Year with the Women of Yerawada
Author: Sudha Bhardwaj
Publishing Date: Oct 2023
Publisher: Juggernaut
Pages: 216
Read more / order

▪ How Long Can the Moon Be Caged? Voices of Indian Political Prisoners
Authors: Suchitra Vijayan and Francesca Recchia
Publishing Date: Aug 2023
Publisher: Pluto Press
Pages: 247
Read more / order

Many Prisoners at Taloja Jail Not Produced Before Court For Years, Reveals Survey by Surendra Gadling and Sagar Gorkhe

Many Prisoners at Taloja Jail Not Produced Before Court For Years, Reveals Survey by Surendra Gadling and Sagar Gorkhe

Many Prisoners at Taloja Jail Not Produced Before Court For Years, Reveals Survey by Jailed Activists

10/02/2025

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

Both Gadling and Gorkhe have moved the Bombay high court seeking direction to ensure regular court visits for those in judicial custody.
… Human rights activist Surendra Gadling and cultural activist Sagar Gorkhe, with the help of others arrested in the Elgar Parishad case have identified at least 300 such cases where incarcerated persons lodged at the Taloja central prison have not been produced before the court for years at end.
Read more

2 Elgar accused move HC, seek regular production of undertrials in courts

12/02/2025

Hindustan Times / by Revu Suresh

The petition provided details of 305 undertrial prisoners lodged in Taloja jail who were not being produced before the trial courts on due dates
Advocate Surendra Gadling and Kabir Kala Manch activist Sagar Gorkhe, arrested in connection with the Ekgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case and lodged in Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai, have moved the Bombay high court, seeking directions to ensure the regular production of undertrial prisoners in the jail in respective trial courts.
Read more

Two Elgar Parishad Accused Approach Bombay High Court to Ensure Regular Court Appearances for Undertrials

12/02/2025

Law Trend / by Law Trend

In a significant move, Advocate Surendra Gadling and Kabir Kala Manch activist Sagar Gorkhe, both accused in the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon conspiracy case and currently incarcerated in Taloja jail, Navi Mumbai, have approached the Bombay High Court. They are seeking judicial directives to ensure that undertrial prisoners in the jail are regularly produced in their respective trial courts.
Read more

Also read:
▪ With Guards Unavailable Due to Coldplay Concert, Elgar Parishad Undertrials Mull Hunger Strike (The Wire / Jan 2025)
▪ Elgar Parishad Prisoners’ Hunger Strike Marks a Momentous Victory for Prison Rights (The Wire / Nov 2024)

Court summons Taloja jail superintendent to explain why cot is not provided to accused Surendra Gadling

Court summons Taloja jail superintendent to explain why cot is not provided to accused Surendra Gadling

Surendra Gadling

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

The authorities said that getting a cot is difficult in the general barracks due to crowding, but mattress and pillows are purchasable from the jail canteen at one’s own expenses. They added that Surendra Gadling can be transferred to a high security prison to avail cots.
A special court designated under NIA Act has asked Taloja Central Prison superintendent to remain present before it to explain why the facility of cot cannot be provided to Elgaar Parishad accused Surendra Gadling, who had sought the same citing his physical condition and ailments.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Many Prisoners at Taloja Jail Not Produced Before Court For Years, Reveals Survey by Jailed Activists (The Wire / Feb 2025)
▪ SC adjourns bail pleas of Surendra Gadling, Jyoti Jagtap in Bhima Koregaon case (Scroll.in / Feb 2025)
▪ Better take complete bed rest if you are suffering: NIA court rejects Surendra Gadling’s plea for walks outside prison (Hindustan Times / Jan 2025)
▪ Elgar Parishad Prisoners’ Hunger Strike Marks a Momentous Victory for Prison Rights (The Wire / Nov 2024)
▪ Elgar Parishad case accused seeks contempt action against Navi Mumbai cop (India Today / Oct 2024)
▪ Arrested BK16 Poet Alleges Intimidation After Protesting Prison Corruption (Indiejournal.in / Jul 2024)

▪ Video: The Prison Song of Surendra Gadling (The Wire / lyrics by Ramesh Gaychor)

hindi | 11min | 2021
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 / Listen to the song

SC Adjourns Bail Pleas Of Surendra Gadling, Jyoti Jagtap & NIA Appeal Against Mahesh Raut’s Bail

SC Adjourns Bail Pleas Of Surendra Gadling, Jyoti Jagtap & NIA Appeal Against Mahesh Raut’s Bail

SC adjourns bail pleas of Surendra Gadling, Jyoti Jagtap in Bhima Koregaon case

06/02/2025

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The Supreme Court also deferred the National Investigation Agency’s appeal against the bail granted to their co-accused Mahesh Raut.
The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned the bail petitions of lawyer Surendra Gadling and activist Jyoti Jagtap in the Bhima Koregaon case, Live Law reported.
A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal also deferred the National Investigation Agency’s appeal against the bail granted to their co-accused Mahesh Raut.
Read more

Supreme Court Adjourns Bail Pleas Of Surendra Gadling, Jyoti Jagtap & NIA Appeal Against Mahesh Raut’s Bail

06/02/2025

Live Law / by LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK

The Supreme Court on Thursday (February 6) adjourned the petitions filed by lawyer Surendra Gadling and Jyoti Jagtap seeking bail in the Bhima Koregaon case over alleged links with banned Maoist groups.
A bench comprising Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Rajesh Bindal also adjourned the appeal filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) challenging the bail granted to co-accused Mahesh Raut.
Read more

Supreme Court Says Accused In Bhima Koregaon Case Are Not Allowing Trial To Proceed; Accused Seek Adjournment To Produce Documents

06/02/2025

Verdictum.in / by Riya Rathore

Counsel for Surendra Gadling in the Maoist link case sought an adjournment to produce documents to show that the accused are not delaying the trial in the Bhima Koregaon case.
The Supreme Court, today granted an adjournment in the bail applications of Surendra Gadling and Jyoti Jagtap in the Maoist link case after the Senior Advocate appearing for Gadling requested for an adjournment to produce documents. “Lordship may give me time to produce all the documents”, Senior Advocate Anand Grover appearing for Surendra Gadling submitted and the Court agreed.
Read more

Also read:
▪ SC gives Maha govt two weeks time to respond to lawyer Surendra Gadling’s bail plea (Daijiworld / Dec 2024)
▪ Year after being granted bail, Mahesh Raut remains in jail as stay extended (The Indian Express / Sep 2024)
▪ SC adjourns hearing on bail plea of Bhima Koregaon case accused Jyoti Jagtap (Hindustan Times / Jul 2024)

2016 Surjagarh Mine Arson Case: SC To Hear Bail Plea Of Surendra Gadling Next Week

2016 Surjagarh Mine Arson Case: SC To Hear Bail Plea Of Surendra Gadling Next Week

Outlook / by pti

On December 25, 2016, Maoist rebels allegedly set ablaze 76 vehicles being used for transporting iron ore from Surajgarh mines in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli.
The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned to next week the hearing on the bail plea of advocate Surendra Gadling in connection with the 2016 Surjagarh iron ore mine arson case.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal deferred the matter as additional solicitor general Raja Thakare, representing Maharashtra government, was unavailable.
Read more

Also read:
▪ Gadchiroli arson case: Supreme Court issues notice in bail plea of Surendra Gadling (The Leaflet / Oct 2023)
▪ Now, ED Wants to Probe Elgar Parishad Case, Accuses Surendra Gadling of ‘Money Laundering’ (The Wire / July 2022)
▪ Surendra Gadling’s Computer Was Attacked, Incriminating Documents Planted: Arsenal Consulting (The Wire / July 2021)
▪ Maharashtra: Activists, Lawyers Added to ‘Union War Book’, Listed as ‘Enemies of the State’ (The Wire / Jul 2021)
▪ Gadling in jail. Reason? As lawyer-activist he has been ‘unpleasant’ to India’s topcops (Counterview / Dec 2020)
▪ Now Gadchiroli Police takes custody of Surendra Gadling, P Varavara Rao, prompting senior lawyers to say this is ‘ever-greening of charges’ (The Leaflet / Jan 2019)

By Adv Surendra Gadling Defence Committee:
With due credit to anonymous artist and to the jailed, to be jailed lawyers
With Guards Unavailable Due to Coldplay Concert, Elgar Parishad Undertrials Consider Hunger Strike

With Guards Unavailable Due to Coldplay Concert, Elgar Parishad Undertrials Consider Hunger Strike

Elgaar Parishad accused threaten hunger strike after Navi Mumbai Police diverts guards for Coldplay concert

18/01/2025

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

The Navi Mumbai police had said that 1,000 police personnel will be deployed for duty at the concert.
The Navi Mumbai police commissionerate has informed the Taloja Central Jail, where the male Elgaar Parishad accused are lodged. The jail was informed that all guards are deployed at the Coldplay concert which is to take place on Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday and hence, guards will not be available to produce undertrials for court hearings or other scheduled visits like the hospital.
Read more

With Guards Unavailable Due to Coldplay Concert, Elgar Parishad Undertrials Mull Hunger Strike

18/01/2025

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

The unavailability of prison guards means prisoners will miss out on scheduled court and hospital visits.
For music lovers, while the Coldplay concert promises to be an exciting event to look forward to, for those incarcerated at the Taloja Central Jail located on the outskirts of Mumbai, the next three days of the concert come with an unintended consequence: missing their scheduled court and hospital visits.
Read more

Also read:
▪ The Elgar prisoners’ latest hunger strike marks a momentous victory for prison rights (The Polis Project / Nov 2024)
▪ Elgar Parishad case accused seeks contempt action against Navi Mumbai cop (India Today / Oct 2024)
▪ Arrested BK16 Poet Alleges Intimidation After Protesting Prison Corruption (Indiejournal.in / Jul 2024)
▪ Exorbitant Prices of Food, Corrupt Officials Divert Ration to VIP Prisoners: Jailed Activists (The Wire / Aug 2024)
▪ Hunger Strike unto death against the harassment from Taloja Central Jail’s apathetic administration (By Sagar Gorkhe / May 2022)