UAPA – Page 16 – free them all

UAPA used to crush dissent: Former civil servants challenge provisions of law

18/11/2021 Asha

‘UAPA used to crush dissent’: Former civil servants challenge provisions of law in Supreme Court

18/11/2021

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The petitioners submitted that the rate of prosecution in UAPA cases was extremely low.
A group of former civil servants on Wednesday challenged the provisions of anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the Supreme Court, Live Law reported.
The Act gives absolute power to the Centre, which can deem an activity as unlawful by way of an Official Gazette and declare it so.
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‘Act Used To Quell Dissent’ : Former Civil Servants Challenge Validity Of UAPA; Supreme Court Issues Notice

17/11/2021

Live Law / by Sneha Rao

The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice on a Writ Petition filed by petitioners- who have all been former IAS/IPS/IFS officials- challenging the vires and validity of the various provisions of the draconian anti-terror law Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967
On Wednesday, a Bench comprising the Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice Surya Kant issued notice to the Union Government on the petition and directed that it be tagged along with a similar petition.
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Also watch: Repeal UAPA – Persecution by Prosecution (PUCL, Jan 2021)

Three Day consultation on 20th, 21st and 22nd January, 2021
► Repeal UAPA – Day One (video: en + … | 2h 17min)
► Repeal UAPA – Day Two (video: en +… | 2h 22min)
► Repeal UAPA – Day Three (video: en + … | 2h 51min)

Father Stan’s fight goes beyond his death, says his lawyer

13/11/2021 Asha

Bangalore, July 2021

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Father Stan Swamy’s fight goes on, even beyond his death, said lawyer Mihir Desai, who represented the Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist in the Elgaar Parishad case.
The 84-year-old Swamy died undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Mumbai in July while he was under judicial custody. He was booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Elgaar Parishad case.
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UAPA: Lawyers Challenge Sections Defining ‘Unlawful Activities’ as Vague

12/11/2021 Asha

Drawing by Arun Ferreira

UAPA: Lawyers Challenge Sections Defining ‘Unlawful Activities’ as Vague

12/11/2021

Gauri Lankesh News / by Grauri Lankesh News Desk

The unlawful activities are defined in such a vague manner to make its application solely on the discretion of police machinery, say the petitioners.
The petition has been filed by two advocates and one journalist, who have been booked under UAPA in connection with their social media posts and work related to the recent communal violence in Tripura …
Many eminent lawyers and activists also petitioned against sections of UAPA
Bhima Koregaon accused Anand Teltumbde has filed a petition before the Bombay High Court challenging Section 43D of UAPA on bail as well as misuse of the term “front organisation” by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
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As the police reach increasingly for draconian UAPA, are the courts pushing back?

11/11/2021

Scroll.in / by Umang Poddar

There have been a few instances recently of the courts granting bail to people accused under the anti-terror law.
… Over the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of cases against the government’s critics under the UAPA, a harsh law that was passed to deal with terrorist activities and actions such as inciting secession or disrupting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.
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Tracing The Footprints Of National Security Vis-À-Vis Fundamental Rights

11/11/2021

Live Law / by Kaustubh Tiwari

… It has been a sorry state of affairs for fundamental rights in the courts when the word national security is uttered by the government like in the Rafael, Bhima- Koregaon and Rohingya Refugee matters. The court’s dilettante disposition for fundamentals rights is quite conspicuously reflected by its own line of decisions. This being a persistent notoriety of the courts in India, it is time- warranted that the Supreme Court needs to find the correct opportunity to rectify the judicial alacrity to uphold provisions of law highly repugnant to fundamental rights when place against national security concerns and craft a balancing approach whereby fundamentals rights and the security of the state both can peacefully co-exist.
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Also read:
● Anand Teltumbde Moves Bombay High Court Challenging Stringent Bail Conditions & ‘Vague Terminology’ In UAPA (Live Law / Sep 2021)

As Sudha Bharadwaj Spends 4th Birthday in Jail, a Reminder That UAPA Enables Her Incarceration

03/11/2021 Asha

Chhattisgarh, Nov 1, 2021

The Wire / by Mahtab Alam

In addition to her legal battles, Sudha Bharadwaj also fought to seek justice for the marginalised in Chhattisgarh.
On Monday, November 1, Chhattisgarh celebrated 21 years of its statehood. On November 1, 2000, the state was carved out of Madhya Pradesh. It was a result of longstanding demand and sustained struggles of local organisations and the population. One of the organisations which played a key role in the formation of the new state is Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha (CMM) or Chhattisgarh Liberation Front. The CMM was formed in the early 1980s under the charismatic leadership of trade union leader Shankar Guha Niyogi. He was murdered in September 1991. And one of those who decided to carry forward the unfinished work of Niyogi is his fellow comrade from early years of activism – Sudha Bharadwaj, a trade union activist, lawyer and teacher.
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Condemn The Solitary Confinement Of The Bhima Koregaon Accused!

26/10/2021 Asha

By Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR)

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.
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Trying Without a Trial Is the Intent of Draconian UAPA Law

25/10/2021 Asha

The Wire / by Rajshree Chandra

‘Trial by process’ is the political and organisational logic of the UAPA.
An 84-year-old Jesuit Father, Stan Swamy, charged for inciting violence in Bhima Koregaon (BK), died inside the panoptic walls of the Taloja jail on July 5. Despite his age, despite his Parkinson’s-ravaged body, despite his tremors, despite his Covid infection, despite all his frailties, he had been denied bail repeatedly. Rather than his ailing, failing body becoming a ground for bail and appropriate medical care, his body became yet another ground on which the National Investigation Agency (NIA) waged its vicious war.
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Bail is Not Impossible in UAPA Cases: Courts Can Shine a Path to Justice

19/10/2021 Asha

Bail is Not Impossible in UAPA Cases: Courts Can Shine a Path to Justice

19/10/2021

The Quint / by Vakasha Sachdev

Despite strict bail conditions & the SC’s Watali judgment, courts can still apply their mind to see if charges fit.
India has for many years had a major problem when it comes to pre-trial incarceration. 70 percent of prisoners in India are undertrials, according to the latest available NCRB data (from 2019) – that’s 3,28,000 people in jail without ever being convicted.
… The Bhima Koregaon accused are the best example of this, with bail denied to them despite incriminating evidence appearing to be planted on their computers (Rona Wilson), the material against them being dubious (Sudha Bhardwaj) and having severe illnesses (83-year-old Father Stan Swamy, who eventually died in jail).
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Kappan’s Chargesheet and Threat to Reporters Covering Minority Issues

19/10/2021

Newsclick / by Hana Vahab

An independent journalist in India has been behind the bars for one year. His crime, as per the chargesheet filed is, reporting and writing stories only for “inciting” the Muslim community.
… The number of journalists charged with UAPA in the past five years add up to over 5,000 with a hike of 162% in sedition cases between 2016- 2019 as per the National Crime Records Bureau. Those who were incarcerated under UAPA include … human rights lawyers Arun Ferreria and Surendra Gadling, Dalit rights activists Sudhir Dhawale and Mahesh Raut, women’s rights activist Shoma Sen among others.
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When Can an Accused in Jail Get Medical Bail? Is it Possible in UAPA Cases?

23/09/2021 Asha

The Quint / by Vakasha Sachdev

Nearly all Bhima Koregaon accused have been denied medical bail despite serious ailments. Here’s what the law says.
On 24 September, the Bombay High Court will consider whether to extend the bail granted by it to poet and activist Varavara Rao on medical grounds, back in February.
81-year-old Rao had been granted medical bail for six months by the court in view of various medical problems that had kept requiring hospitalisation and repeated deteriorations in his condition every time he was sent back to jail.
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Human chain formed in Tamil Nadu seeking release of prisoners in Bhima Koregaon case (pictures)

15/09/2021 Asha

Human chain formed in Tamil Nadu seeking release of prisoners in Bhima Koregaon case

15/09/2021

The Hindu / by Staff Reporter

‘It is a protest against stifling of all voices for democratic rights’
The arrest of thinkers, social activits and writers in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case is not just a blantant violation of human rights, but a threat to intellectuals who speak against Hindutva forces, said Madurai MP Su. Venkatesan on Wednesday.
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Activists Form Human Chains to Demand Release of Bhima-Koregaon Detainees

15/09/2021

Newsclick / by Neelambaran A

Left, youth, Dalit and human rights organisations in Tamil Nadu slam the BJP government for muzzling dissent.
More than 25 Left, youth, Dalit and human rights organisations in Tamil Nadu formed human chains on the International Day of Democracy on Wednesday to protest the illegal detention of intellectuals and activists, including in the Bhima-Koregaon case, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967.
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Also read:
● 95% pendency of trial of UAPA cases, 85% cases pending investigation: NCRB report (Sabrang / Sep 16, 2021)

● Anyone who exposes the agenda of Sangh Parivar is silenced: Thirumavalavan (The Hindu / Sep 15)

In pictures

Pictures shared by Era.Athiyamaan / @EraAthiyamaan

Pictures shared by CPI (M) / @cpimspeak

Pictures shared by SimpliCityCoimbatore / @simplicitycbe

Release Bhima-Koregaon Prosoners Immediately – Release All Political Prisoners

UN rights chief condemns ongoing restrictions on freedom of assembly

14/09/2021 Asha

Jurist.org / by Sambhav Sharma

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, on Monday condemned India’s restrictions placed on public assembly in Jammu and Kashmir, pursuant to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967 (UAPA)…
This condemnation comes after many in India have continuously criticised the allegedly arbitrary and abusive law that punishes dissenters who are vocal against government actions. As many as 5,128 cases have been registered in India under the UAPA since 2015.
The law was also severely scrutinised in July after the demise of Father Stan Swamy, a tribal rights activist who was arrested under the UAPA for his alleged involvement in the Bhima Koregaon violence in 2018 and his links to Maoists.
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