Surendra Gadling – free them all

“Not a usual matter”: SC after State seeks adjournment in Surendra Gadling bail plea

04/12/2024 Asha

“Not a usual matter”: Supreme Court after State seeks adjournment in Surendra Gadling bail plea

04/12/2024

Bar & Bench / by Anadi Tewari

The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court had in January rejected the bail plea of lawyer and activist Surendra Gadling in the 2016 Surajgarh arson case
The Supreme Court on Wednesday took exception to the Maharashtra government seeking adjournment in the bail plea filed by lawyer and activist Surendra Gadling in connection with the 2016 Surajgarh arson case [Surendra Pundalik Gadling vs State of Maharashtra].
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SC gives Maha govt two weeks time to respond to lawyer Surendra Gadling’s bail plea

04/12/2024

Dajiworld.com / by IANS

The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted the Maharashtra government two weeks’ time to file a counter affidavit to the bail plea filed by lawyer Surendra Gadling, who is behind bars in connection with the 2016 Surjagarh iron ore mine arson case.
A bench, headed by Justice M.M. Sundresh, was hearing a special leave petition filed by Gadling against the dismissal of his appeal filed under Section 21(4) of the NIA (National Investigation Agency) Act seeking bail.
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SC defers bail plea of advocate Gadling in 2016 Surjagarh mine arson case

04/12/2024

Business Standard / by ANI

The state sought adjournment on the ground that some documents are yet to be filed
The Supreme Court granted two weeks time to the Maharashtra government on Wednesday to file additional documents on the bail plea of advocate Surendra Gadling in connection with the 2016 Surjagarh iron ore mine arson case.
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Also read:
▪ Judicial Deliberations: Surendra Gadling’s Awaited Bail in Surjagarh Arson Case (Devdisourse / Nov 2024)
▪ How Long Is Too Long for an Undertrial Prisoner To Be Detained? (The Wire | by Hany Babu & Surendra Gadling | Oct 2024)
▪ Gadchiroli arson case: Supreme Court issues notice in bail plea of Surendra Gadling (The Leaflet / Oct 2023)
▪ Surendra Gadling’s Computer Was Attacked, Incriminating Documents Planted: Arsenal Consulting (The Wire / July 2021)
▪ 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)

Judicial Deliberations: Surendra Gadling’s Awaited Bail in Surjagarh Arson Case

25/11/2024 Asha

SC defers bail plea of Surendra Gadling in 2016 Surjagarh mine arson case

25/11/2024

The Print / by pti

The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned to December 4 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 Aravind Kumar deferred the matter after the counsel appearing for the Maharashtra government sought time to file a reply in the matter.
The top court on October 10, 2023, issued notice to the state government and sought its response on the petition within four weeks.
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Judicial Deliberations: Surendra Gadling’s Awaited Bail in Surjagarh Arson Case

25/11/2024

Devdiscourse / by Devdiscourse News Desk

The Supreme Court has postponed the bail plea of advocate Surendra Gadling in the 2016 Surjagarh iron ore mine arson case to December 4. Gadling is accused of aiding Maoists in the arson and is also linked to the Elgar Parishad case. His bail had been previously denied.
… The adjournment came after a bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Aravind Kumar agreed to a request from the Maharashtra government’s counsel, who sought more time to prepare a response.
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Also read:
▪ How Long Is Too Long for an Undertrial Prisoner To Be Detained? (The Wire | by Hany Babu & Surendra Gadling | Oct 2024)
▪ Was the trial judge who convicted G.N. Saibaba biased? We will never know, and that is part of the injustice (The Leaflet / March 2024)
▪ Gadchiroli arson case: Supreme Court issues notice in bail plea of Surendra Gadling (The Leaflet / Oct 2023)
▪ 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)

Elgar Parishad Prisoners’ Hunger Strike Marks a Momentous Victory for Prison Rights

11/11/2024 Asha

Credits: Drawing by Arun Ferreira / The Polis Project

The Polis Project / by Prashant Rahi

On October 24, the lawyers and activists accused in the Elgar Parishad case were brought to court from Taloja Central Jail for their hearing. This bare minimum satisfaction of their basic legal right to be present for their case had become far from routine. It happened for the first time in nearly two months, after many hearings held in their absence, and despite specific directions from the court for their production. In fact, it took a hunger strike by seven of the accused – the latest of numerous protests by the BK-16 over the denial of bare necessities and basic rights – for the prison administration to concede to their demands.
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Also read:
▪ BK-16 Prison Diaries (By The Polis Project)
▪ Elgar Parishad case accused seeks contempt action against Navi Mumbai cop (India Today / Oct 25, 2024)
▪ Elgaar Parishad case undertrials on protest path for not being produced in court for successive hearings (The Telegraph / Oct 20, 2024)
▪ Not Produced in Court Despite Directions, Seven Elgar Parishad Accused Go on Hunger Strike (The Wire / Oct 18, 2024)

Surendra Gadling seeks contempt action against Navi Mumbai police

25/10/2024 Asha

Elgar Parishad case accused seeks contempt action against Navi Mumbai cop

25/10/2024

India Today / by Vidya

Surendra Gadling and 14 other activists have been charged in connection with alleged provocative speeches delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017.
An accused in the 2018 Elgar Parishad Maoist links case has moved an application before a special NIA court, seeking action against the Navi Mumbai police commissioner and reserve police inspector at Kalamboli headquarters for not producing him in court physically for hearings.
He also moved a plea seeking to initiate contempt proceedings against prison authorities for not providing him with a cot in prison despite the special court’s order.
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Lawyer accused in Elgaar Parishad case seeks action against Navi Mumbai police

25/10/2024

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Last week, Gadling and six others had gone on a hunger strike to protest not being brought to court for three hearings from Taloja jail where they are lodged.
Lawyer Surendra Gadling, who is facing charges in the Elgaar Parishad case, filed a plea before a special court on Thursday seeking action against the Navi Mumbai police commissionerate stating that a government resolution on reserving police to escort undertrials to court is being flouted.
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Also read:
▪ Elgaar Parishad case undertrials on protest path for not being produced in court for successive hearings (The Telegraph / Oct 2024)

Hunger strike called off for now | Not Produced in Court Despite Directions – Elgar Parishad Accused Go on Hunger Strike

18/10/2024 Asha

Elgaar Parishad case undertrials on protest path for not being produced in court for successive hearings

20/10/2024

The Telegraph / by Pheroze L. Vincent

Non-availability of police escorts is a common reason for undertrials not being produced in courts across India
Seven inmates at the Taloja Central Prison in Navi Mumbai, awaiting trial in the 2018 Elgaar Parishad case, on Saturday evening ended the hunger strike that they had started on Friday to protest against police who didn’t produce them in court for successive hearings.
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by Sukanya Shantha @ sukanyashantha (Oct 20)

Update: The hunger strike has been called off for now.
The prison officials submitted an urgent application to the court & have assured them that they’ll be a produced before the NIA court on Oct 24.
If the seven men aren’t presented then, they plan to resume their hunger strike.

Not Produced in Court Despite Directions, Seven Elgar Parishad Accused Go on Hunger Strike

18/10/2024

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

The activists have not been produced before the court for the last three hearings in the case. Seven human rights defenders facing prolonged incarceration in the infamous Elgar Parishad case went on a hunger strike on Friday (October 18).
The activists have not been produced before the court for the last three hearings in the case. Today, despite a court order, the Navi Mumbai police failed to provide an escort team to take the incarcerated individuals from the Taloja central prison to the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court located in south Mumbai, prompting the activists to announce their hunger strike.
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How Long Is Too Long for an Undertrial Prisoner To Be Detained?

14/10/2024 Asha

The Wire / by Hany Babu and Surendra Gadling

If after conviction, the term of one’s sentence can be commuted to its one-third at the executive’s will, we propose that the same formula can be adopted in fixing the maximum period for which an undertrial prisoner can be detained.

Originally published on The Proof of Guilt blog, this post was written by Hany Babu and Surendra Gadling, who have been detained in prison as ‘undertrials’ since 2018 and 2020 respectively. This piece was published simultaneously with the Indian Constitutional Law and Philosophy blog.

Dedicated to the fellow undertrial prisoners languishing in the prisons of India with the hope that the system would sooner than later wake up to their plight; and that one day prisons, if not still obsolete, would at least have become places where those proven guilty are held, and not places that incarcerate those who are presumed to be innocent.
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Supreme Court to hear Surendra Gadling’s bail plea in the 2016 Gadchiroli Arson Case

21/08/2024 Asha

by Live Law / @LiveLawIndia (Aug 21):
#SupremeCourt to soon hear Dalit rights’ activist and advocate Surendra Gadling’s bail plea in the 2016 Gadchiroli Arson Case. The Nagpur-based lawyer is also among the 16 accused in the Bhima Koregaon case. Bench: Justices MM Sundresh and Aravind Kumar Gadling filed a special leave petition challenging the Bombay High Court’s decision to reject his bail application in the Gadchiroli arson case, which involved around 80 vehicles transporting iron ore from Surjagarh mines in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district from allegedly being set on fire by Maoists in December 2016.

Also read:
▪ Was the trial judge who convicted G.N. Saibaba biased? We will never know, and that is part of the injustice (The Leaflet / March 2024)
▪ Gadchiroli arson case: Supreme Court issues notice in bail plea of Surendra Gadling (The Leaflet / Oct 2023)
▪ 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)

Sagar Gorkhe and Surendra Gadling seek jail reforms, action against ‘corrupt’ officer

15/08/2024 Asha

Elgaar Parishad accused seeks jail reforms, action against ‘corrupt’ officer

15/08/2024

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Gorkhe’s letter also called for better regulation of the prices for vegetables and chicken provided to prisoners, and requested that access to the canteen be increased from twice to four times a month.
Elgaar Parishad case accused Sagar Gorkhe wrote a letter to the DIG, Prisons requesting better access to jail canteen and action against a jail officer who was accused of corruption.
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Exorbitant Prices of Food, Corrupt Officials Divert Ration to VIP Prisoners: Jailed Activists

14/08/2024

The Wire / by The Wire Staff

Earlier this month, Gadling sent his complaint letters to the prison authorities and the local Panvel police station, under whose jurisdiction Taloja Prison falls, naming senior jailor Sunil Patil as the person behind the rampant corruption.
In a detailed complaint to the police and the court, human rights defenders Surendra Gadling and Sagar Gorkhe, both arrested for their alleged role in the Elgar Parishad case, have exposed the ongoing corruption in the functioning of the canteen facility inside Taloja Central Prison on the outskirts of Mumbai.
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Special food for the rich, infested curries for others: Lawyer on graft in Taloja canteen

08/08/2024

Hindustan Times / by Revu Suresh

Sumit Gadling, lawyer and son of Surendra Gadling, said that they are planning to move the Bombay high court for a larger investigation into the matter
Surendra Gadling, a human rights lawyer and activist arrested in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case, has complained to the state anti-corruption bureau regarding widespread graft in the functioning of the canteen at Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai.
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New complaint alleges Taloja prison underbelly: ‘Mutton meals for RS 8.000 per kg, 40% cuts, zero record’

06/08/2024

Newslaundry / by Prateek Goyal

Surendra Gadling’s complaint comes a month after Bhima Koregaon co-accused Sagar Gorkhe raised similar concerns in a letter to authorities.
Fried chicken for Rs 2,000, Hyderabadi-Muradabadi biryani for Rs 1,500, Schezwan rice for Rs 500, prawns biryani for Rs 2,000, mutton masala for Rs 8,000, and mutton curry for Rs 7,000.
This may sound like an egregiously overpriced menu of a five-star hotel, but these are prices per kilogram offered allegedly through VIP canteen services for wealthy prisoners lodged at Maharashtra’s Taloja central prison.
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Also read:
▪ ‘Jailor instigating influential criminals against us for speaking up on graft’: Bhima Koregaon accused (Newslaundry / Jul 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
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 / Listen to the song

How the State uses ‘national security’ to spellbind the process of justice

27/07/2024 Asha

The Leaflet / by Gursimran Kaur Bakshi

As the J&K High Court recently reiterated, allegations of ‘terrorism’ have become a copy-paste template that the State uses to muffle dissent, but why do courts freeze the process of criminal justice on hearing ‘national security’?
…
The jurisprudence has resulted in widening the coercive powers of the police and investigation agencies. Since the court only forms its assessment on broad probabilities, a pattern has emerged from the evidence submitted by the prosecution in a wide range of UAPA cases where there is a similarity in terms of enormous allegations running into thousands of pages, generalised testimonies of witnesses; most of which are protected witnesses, lack of incriminating evidence and heavy reliance on electronic evidence and literature.
There are similarities in three specific instances: those arrested in the backdrop of the 2018 Bhima-Koregaon violence, deoperationalisation of Article 370, and 2020 Northeast Delhi riots.
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Also read:
▪ Article 21 ‘overturned’ by new criminal laws: Lawyers, activists remember Stan Swamy (Counterview / Jul 2024)
▪ Authorities must immediately repeal repressive new criminal laws (Amnesty International / Jul 2024)
▪ A New Bill Shows Maharashtra Wants to Become a Police State Before Combatting Left-Wing Extremism (The Wire 7 Jul 2024)
▪ AI Report: India’s exploitation of terrorism financing assessments to target the civil society (Amnesty.org / Sep 2023)
▪ Maharashtra: Activists, Lawyers Added to ‘Union War Book’, Listed as ‘Enemies of the State’ (The Wire / Jul 2021)

HC Rejects Default Bail To Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Sudhir Dhawade & Rona Wilson

26/07/2024 Asha

Bombay HC rejects default bail of five accused in Bhima Koregaon case

26/07/2024

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The petitioners had moved the High court challenging special court orders in 2022 that denied them default bail.
The Bombay High Court on Friday rejected the default bail petitions of five persons accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, Bar and Bench reported.
A division bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Shyam C Chandak issued the order on petitions filed by lawyer Surendra Gadling, activist and researcher Rona Wilson, poet and political commentator Sudhir Dhawale, forest rights activist Mahesh Raut, and former Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen.
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Bombay High Court rejects default bail of five accused

26/07/2024

Bar & Bench / by Satyendra Wankhade

A Division Bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Shyam C Chandak passed the order on pleas filed by the five accused challenging 2022 special court orders that denied them default bail.
The Bombay High Court on Friday denied default bail to Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale and Shoma Sen in connection with the Bhima Koregaon violence case.
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Bombay HC dismisses default bail pleas of 5 accused in Elgaar Parishad case

26/07/2024

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

The case dates back to the Elgaar Parishad event held in Shaniwar Wada in Pune on December 31, 2017, following which violent clashes broke out the next day between Maratha and Dalit groups near Bhima Koregaon in Maharashtra.
The Bombay High Court on Friday dismissed default bail pleas by five Elgaar Parishad case accused Surendra Gadling, Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale, Mahesh Raut and Shoma Sen who were arrested by the Pune police in June 2018. The Supreme Court had granted regular bail to Sen in April.
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Bombay High Court Rejects Default Bail To Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Sudhir Dhawade & Rona Wilson

26/07/2024

Live Law / by Narsi Benwal

The Bombay High Court today rejected the default bail to Dalit rights’ activist and advocate Surendra Gadling and co-accused Mahesh Raut, in the infamous Elgar Parishad case of 2018.
A division bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Shyam Chandak pronounced the order in their chamber. Bail was also denied to Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen, Sudhir Dhawade and researcher Rona Wilson.
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Also Read:
▪ Explained: The Shoma Sen bail judgment (The Leaflet / Apr 2024)
▪ 4 accused seek bail from Bombay HC on parity with Sudha Bharadwaj (India Today / March 2023)
▪ Bombay HC grants default bail to Sudha Bharadwaj, but declines the same to eight other accused (The Leaflet / Dec 2021)