“The non-availability of medicines and hot water is posing a danger to my life,” the lawyer wrote in a letter to the additional director general of prisons.
In the latest instance of inhumane treatment meted out to the accused in the Elgar-Parishad case, lawyer Surendra Gadling has accused the Taloja central jail superintendent of blocking his supply of ayurvedic medicines, which he had been permitted to access by the trial court. Read more
Video: The Prison Song of Surendra Gadling
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. The song was recorded by one of Gadling’s colleagues and was made available to The Wire after obtaining his consent. Watch video
Why the HC granted default bail to Sudha Bharadwaj and not to others / Understanding the Judgement (audio)
Audio: Understanding the Judgement of the Bombay High Court
01/12/2021
By PUCL
Date: Dec 1, 2021
Speakers: Mihir Desai and others
In order to understand the judgement in the Bhima Koregaon, default statutory bail case granting bail to Sudha Bharadwaj (National Secretary of the PUCL), but rejecting the bail of 8 others who had also similarly applied, namely Dr. Varavara Rao, Dr. Shoma Sen, Surendra Gadling, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Arun Ferreira, Mahesh Raut, we are holding a meeting on December 1st, 2021 from 8pm to 10pm.
All are welcome to listen to the lawyers share their views on the judgement. V. Suresh (General Secretary PUCL ) Kavita Srivastava (National Secretary)
Listen to recording
Why the Bombay High Court granted default bail to Sudha Bharadwaj and not to others [read order]
01/12/2021
Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi
Sudha Bharadwaj’s application for default bail was pending on the date the application for extension of time to file chargesheet was made.
While granting default bail to lawyer and activist Sudha Bharadwaj on Wednesday, the Bombay High Court refused bail to eight other co-accused in the Bhima Koregaon case.
The Bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar made certain interesting observations in the 120-page order while deciding the pleas filed by Bharadwaj and 8 others challenging orders of the Pune Sessions Judges. Read more/read judgement
Time For UAPA Probe Was Extended By A Court Which Lacked Competent Jurisdiction: Bombay HC [read order]
01/12/2021
Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim
In its detailed order granting default bail to Sudha Bharadwaj the Bombay High Court said that Additional Sessions Judge of Pune KD Vadane was not authorized to extend the time for Pune Police to file the charge sheet under provision of the UAPA Act on November 26, 2018 and therefore she was entitled for default bail. Read more/read judgement
Bombay HC grants default bail to Sudha Bharadwaj, but declines the same to eight other accused
01/12/2021
The Leaflet / by Sabah Gurmaj and Paras Nath Singh
The Bombay High Court grants default bail to Sudha Bharadwaj in the Bhima Koregaon case on the ground that the court which took cognizance of the chargesheet against her was not competent, while it denied the same to the other accused in the case, because they did not claim their right to default bail in time. Paras Nath Singh and Sabah Gurmaj write about the High Court’s application of the principles of default bail in these cases. Read more
BREAKING: Bombay HC Grants Default Bail To Sudha Bharadwaj; Refuses Bail To 8 Other Accused
BREAKING: Bombay HC Grants Default Bail To Sudha Bharadwaj; Refuses Bail To 8 Other Accused
01/12/2021
Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday granted default bail to lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad caste violence case.
However, the Court rejected the bail applications of the 8 other accused Sudhir Dawale, Dr P Varavara Rao, Rona Wilson, Advocate Surendra Gadling, Professor Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira. They were arrested between June – August 2018. Read more
Sudha Bharadwaj granted default bail by Bombay High Court; plea of 8 others rejected
01/12/2021
Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi
Sudha Bharadwaj and 8 others had challenged the jurisdiction of the Pune Sessions Judge in 2019 who they submitted was not the Special NIA judge and hence not competent to hear their applications under UAPA.
In a significant development, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday allowed the default bail plea filed by Bhima Koregaon accused advocate Sudha Bharadwaj [Sudha Bharadwaj v. National Investigation Agency]. Read more
CONDEMN THE SOLITARY CONFINEMENT AND CONTINUING HARASSMENT OF THE BHIMA KOREGAON ACCUSED BY TALOJA CENTRAL JAIL AUTHORITIES!
STOP PUNISHING POLITICAL PRISONERS FOR THEIR BELIEFS!
The high handedness of the Taloja Central Jail administration was evident in the events leading to the death of the octogenarian Bhima Koregaon undertrail, Stan Swamy on July 5, 2021. Almost immediately, the remaining BK undertrials protested the arbitrary jail conditions imposed by the then Superintendent, Kaustabh Kurlekar by observing a one-day hunger strike. However, far from bringing such persecution to an end, a new repressive regime has been installed by Superintendent UT Pawar. Its latest manifestation is the transfer of Vernon Gonsalves, Sagar Gokhale, Ramesh Gaichor, Surendra Gadling, Sudhir Dhawale and most recently on 12 October 2021 Gautam Navlakha to the ‘anda’ circle, the high security prison area in Taloja Jail. Imprisonment in the anda cell is a form of solitary confinement which is blatantly illegal in the case of undertrial prisoners. Read full statement
While out on temporary bail in August, the rights activist sang a song written by Kabir Kala Manch’s Ramesh Gaichor for his friends and colleagues about the sordid conditions in prison.
Mumbai: Surendra Gadling, a human rights lawyer from Nagpur, has always considered courtrooms his stage. Between serious arguments, he would casually break into songs of cultural and political resistance. He would be commonly found invoking political theories and remembering shahirs from the Dalit community amid serious legal arguments. His court appearances usually attracted an eager audience from among his peers and junior lawyers. Read more
Video: The Prison Song of Surendra Gadling
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
Silence on letter on Father Stan Swamy’s jail torment
12/10/2021
The Telegraph / by Pheroze L. Vincent
A three-month-old letter by three Elgaar Parishad co-accused alleging “institutional murder” of Father Stan Swamy and accusing then Taloja prison superintendent Kaustubh Kurlekar of mistreating him has yet to evoke any response from the Maharashtra authorities it was sent to.
The letter alleged the 84-year-old Jesuit and tribal rights defender from Jharkhand was strip-searched “in front of the entire staff” when he was brought to the jail, and was kept in isolation so the Parkinson’s patient could not receive any help from fellow prisoners. Read more
Stan Swamy’s Death was an Institutional Murder: Co-inmates write to Uddhav Thackeray
06/10/2021
NewsClick / by Parth M.N.
The letter holds the superintendent of Taloja Prison, Kaustubh Kurlekar, responsible for Swamy’s death, and accuses him of purposely emasculating Swamy’s physical health and mental resolve.
Three political prisoners arrested in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case have written a letter to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray. The letter claims that father Stan Swamy, a tribal rights activist based in Jharkhand, did not die a natural death. “It was an institutional murder,” says the letter, signed by human rights lawyer Surendra Gadling, and cultural activists Ramesh Gaichor and Sagar Gorkhe, who were eyewitnesses to the treatment meted out to Swamy in prison. Read more
NIA court reject medical bail pleas of four accused / Court reject application seeking copy of draft charges
NIA Court refuses medical bail to four Bhima Koregaon accused; citing past precedent, two other accused activists seek laptops in jail
22/09/2021
The Leaflet / by Sabah Gurmat
Shoma Sen, Vernon Gonsalves, Gautam Navlakha and Anand Teltumbde had applied for bail.
On Tuesday, 21 September 2021, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mumbai rejected the bail applications filed on behalf of four of the senior citizens accused in the Bhima Koregaon case…
Notably, three of the Bhima Koregaon accused – Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira and Surendra Gadling – were also produced in-person at the special NIA court in Mumbai. The three argued before court by themselves. Read more
NIA Court rejects medical bail to Shoma Sen
22/09/2021
Sabrang / by Sabrang
She was arrested in June 2018, and has been in jail since then, with no relief.
… Further, as per media reports, the court has also rejected the applications filed by co-accused Sudha Bharadwaj, Hany Babu and Gautam Navlakha for a copy of the draft charges filed by National Investigation Agency (NIA) that has reportedly submitted a list of seventeen draft (proposed) charges against the 15 accused, including the serious charge of waging a war against the country, which is punishable with death or imprisonment for life (section 121 of the Indian Penal Code)… Read more
Shoma Sen
Rona Wilson
Gautam Navlakha
Hany Babu
Sudha Bharadwaj
Special NIA Court Rejects Professor Shoma Sen’s Interim Medical Bail Plea In Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad Case
22/09/2021
Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim
A special NIA court on Tuesday refused interim medical bail to Shoma Sen, a former professor at Nagpur University, who was arrested in the Bhima Koregaon – Elgaar Parishad caste violence case in 2018…
Meanwhile, the court has extended co-accused researcher Rona Wilson’s interim bail by three days…
Lastly, the court rejected an application filed by accused Gautam Navlakha, Hany Babu and Sudha Bharadwaj seeking a copy of draft charges submitted by NIA. Read more
Shoma Sen
Anand Teltmumbde
Gautam Navlakha
Vernon Gonsalves
NIA court reject medical bail pleas of four Bhima-Koregaon case accused
21/09/2021
The Hindu / by Sonam Saigal
The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Tuesday rejected the medical bail applications filed by senior citizens Shoma Sen, Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha and Vernon Gonsalves.
Special Judge D.E. Kothalikar rejected the pleas by relying on recommendations from the high-powered committee set up to decongest prisons owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more
Bombay HC adjourns plea challenging probe being transferred to NIA to September 27
Not replying to plea against probe transfer in Bhima Koregaon case: Maharashtra
15/09/2021
The Hindu / by Special Correspondent
Petition challenged transfer of investigation to NIA after chargesheet was submitted.
In an unusual move, the Maharashtra government told the Bombay High Court on Tuesday that it does not want to reply to a plea filed by two accused in the Bhima Koregaon caste violence case challenging the transfer of the probe from Pune Police to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Read more
Bombay HC adjourns plea challenging probe being transferred to NIA to September 27
14/09/2021
The Times of India / by Swati Deshpande
The state government on Tuesday informed the Bombay high court that it does not wish to file any affidavit in reply to a petition by two Elgar Parishad accused who have challenged the transfer of probe from state police to the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The HC bench of Justices S S Shinde and N J Jamadar recorded the statement by the public prosecutor made on instructions from the state and posted the petition for the final hearing on September 27. Read more
Petition filed in Bombay High Court challenging transfer of case investigation to NIA
19/06/2020
The Leaflet / by Ujjaini Chatterji
A Writ Petition has been filed before the High Court of Maharashtra at Bombay, challenging the transfer of the investigation for Bhima Koregaon and Elgar Parishad cases, to the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The Petitioners in the writ are Advocate Surendra Gadling, prominent lawyer who is famous for his court craft and immense knowledge of criminal law, and Sudhir Dhawale, a freelance journalist and anti-caste activist. Read more
NIA court to pass order on bail pleas of accused Rona Wilson, Vernon Gonsalves
NIA court to pass order on bail pleas of accused Rona Wilson, Vernon Gonsalves
07/09/2021
India Today / by Vidya
A special NIA court will pass an order on the bail pleas of the accused Rona Wilson and Vernon Gonsalves in connection to the Elgar-Parishad case.
A special NIA court in Mumbai will be passing an order on the interim bail pleas of accused Rona Wilson and co-accused Vernon Gonsalves in the Elgar Parishad case, on Tuesday. Read more
NIA opposes activist Rona Wilson’s plea to attend mass after his father’s death
06/09/2021
Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff
The agency claimed that the activist was creating grounds for his release as his father’s last rites had already been performed.
The National Investigation Agency on Monday opposed a petition filed by activist Rona Wilson, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, for interim bail to attend a ceremonial mass after his father’s death, PTI reported.
The agency said that Wilson’s family members could perform the rituals in his absence, The Indian Express reported. Read more
The Legal Battle of Bhima Koregaon: The story so far
The Special NIA Court has listed the pending applications on September 6, 2021
On July 5, 2021, 83-year-old activist and priest Father Stan Swamy passed away in a Mumbai private hospital while in judicial custody for his alleged involvement in the riots that took place in Bhima Koregaon post the Elgar Parishad event held on January 2018.
His death highlighted the state of undertrials in the Bhima Koregaon case, most of whom have been awaiting trial for the past three years. Read more
