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Stan Swamy was ‘killed’, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut attacks Modi govt / Stan, UAPA and the Performative Solidarity of Politicians

Stan Swamy was ‘killed’, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut attacks Modi govt / Stan, UAPA and the Performative Solidarity of Politicians


Drawing by Arun Freirra

Stan Swamy was ‘killed’, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut attacks Modi govt over activist’s death

11/07/2021

The Indian Express / by Vishwas Waghmode

A government that is scared of an 84-year-old man is dictatorial in attitude but weak in the heart like Hitler’s and Mussolini’s, said Raut in his weekly column in party mouthpiece Saamana.
Hitting out at the Union government over the death of Father Stan Swamy, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday said the tribal-rights activist was “killed” in jail. The Sena MP further asked whether the country’s foundations were so weak that an 84-year-old man could overthrow the Narendra Modi government, equating it with the ones of Hitler and Mussolini.
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Shiv Sena asks Centre if Father Stan Swamy was capable of overthrowing state

11/07/2021

Hindustan Times / by Naresh Kamath

Raut said that while the prominent activists arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case were guilty of provocative speeches before the violence on January 2, it required investigation to prove if they were actually conspiring against the nation.
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Father Stan, UAPA and the Performative Solidarity of Politicians

10/07/2021

The Wire / by Farah Naqvi

For politicians expressing anguish and outrage in this moment of injustice, the best tribute would be to do what Fr. Stan Swamy did his entire life.
“Stan Smith (84) passes away. The system sucks. UAPA. No bail. Little hope of early trial. Others too languish in jail. Lawyers , Academics , Social Activists ….raise their voices for the voiceless. They too are now “voiceless”. The State calls them “ terrorists,” Kapil Sibal, Congress MP, tweeted on July 5, 2021.
Sibal got the name wrong. And he forgot to say sorry. For this casual disrespect to a martyr for democracy, even before dust had settled on his grave. He also forgot to say sorry for his own role in giving India the dark gift of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) that finally killed Fr. Stan Swamy. The gift that keeps on giving.
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His Death is Just a Statistic for Them: Anand Grover

10/07/2021

The Citizen / by The Citizen Bureau

‘In other countries if one is wrongly prosecuted they can sue the police or the government’
Senior advocate Anand Grover has represented poet Varavara Rao and professor Shoma Sen imprisoned without trial since 2018 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in charges including a police-alleged plot to assassinate PM Narendra Modi.

Your reaction to Stan Swamy’s death?
It is a failure of the whole criminal justice system.
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UAPA Wrecking Lives: What Is The Human Cost? / Trying Without a Trial Is the Intent of Draconian UAPA Law

UAPA Wrecking Lives: What Is The Human Cost? / Trying Without a Trial Is the Intent of Draconian UAPA Law

UAPA Wrecking Lives: What Is The Human Cost?

10/07/2021

Live Law / by Manu Sebastian

It is high time that the human costs extracted by the unjust detentions under UAPA are calculated and accountability is fixed on those investigating officers who trapped innocents by misusing the statute.
This article is not about how the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act(UAPA) is leading to blatant violations of civil liberties and how the act is being used to criminalize dissent. Much has been written and commented about this aspect by several constitutional scholars.
Experienced criminal law practitioners have highlighted that the stringent bail provisions of UAPA result in innocent persons languishing as undertrials on flimsy and fanciful chargers, only to be acquitted several years later. There is no need to add to the overwhelmingly compelling critical commentarries about UAPA.
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Trying Without a Trial Is the Intent of Draconian UAPA Law

09/07/2021

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.
Now with one gone, there are 15 other bodies, 15 other grounds, 15 other citizens on whose imprisoned bodies this diabolical war shall continue, in which law will be upheld procedurally, but justice denied.
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Father Stan Swamy Died Awaiting Bail, What About Other UAPA Accused?

Father Stan Swamy Died Awaiting Bail, What About Other UAPA Accused?

The Quint / by Mekhala Saran

For the 15 Bhima Koregaon accused, there’s no trial in sight, and no interim relief in reach either.
Father Stan Swamy’s death, as an incarcerated undertrial in the Bhima Koregaon case, has sparked outrage and triggered international condemnation.
Swamy was 84 years old, suffered from Parkinson’s disease, and had told the Bombay High Court, weeks before his death, that all he wanted was to go home.
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Stan Swamy’s institutional murder must lead to a nation-wide movement against draconian laws and state repression

Stan Swamy’s institutional murder must lead to a nation-wide movement against draconian laws and state repression

By National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM)

NAPM joins citizens and democratic groups across the globe remembering the life and struggle of Stan Swamy with pain and pride

7th July, 2021: The news of the cold-blooded killing of Fr. Stan Swamy by all the institutions that held him arbitrarily in custody for over 9 months has shaken not just the ‘conscience’ of India, but of the entire world. This incident shall remain a permanent blot on India’s claim of being a ‘democracy’, which oversaw the custodial torture and consequent ‘death’ of an 84-year-old human rights defender, living with Parkinsons, for a crime he never committed. As the world mourns this spartan saint, whose only mission was to fight for justice for the oppressed, we are left with many unanswered questions about the state of our nation and the future path of struggle. …

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UAPA bail orders come down hard on attempts to equate protest with “Terrorism” / A Cry for Justice

UAPA bail orders come down hard on attempts to equate protest with “Terrorism” / A Cry for Justice

Delhi HC UAPA bail orders come down hard on attempts to equate protest with “Terrorism”

21/06/2021

The Leaflet / by Kavita Krishnan

The Delhi HC bail orders vindicate what pro-democracy activists have been saying since last year: The Delhi Police investigation is blatantly biased and has spun a fantastic conspiracy theory to falsely accuse anti-CAA protestors, especially those of the minority Muslim community, of the very “riots” that was planned and targeted against them making them the victims, says Kavita Krishnan.
…In the Bhima Koregaon case, and the Delhi riots case, as well as several cases involving unarmed protestors all over India, we have seen how the UAPA is used to criminalise protest and punish protestors.
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A Cry for Justice that Keeps Getting Louder

21/06/2021

The Leaflet / by Cedric Prakash

A regime that oppresses the weak and suppresses those who speak against it will always have to deal with more and more dissent. The key to peace and justice in India lies in following the Constitution, writes Cedric Prakash.
… From Aisha Sultana to Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita and Asif Iqbal Tanha. From Khori to Lakshadweep. From Tihar Jail to Taloja Jail. From Fr Stan Swami to Umar Khalid. From the Bhima-Koregaon sixteen to the other UAPA-incarcerated. From Sulabh to Siddique, from farmers to workers, from the unemployed to the refugees, from minorities to the marginalised, from the caregivers to the academics, from the toolkits to the brazen headlines, from rising costs to lack of vaccines—the cries for justice in India have never been so shrill and clear!
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Has the blackbox of UAPA finally been opened?

Has the blackbox of UAPA finally been opened?

The Indian Express / by Pratap Bhanu Mehta

The orders passed by Justices Siddharth Mridul and Anup J Bhambhani, granting bail to Asif Tanha, Devangana Kalita, and Natasha Narwal, have opened up the black box of the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) jurisprudence. The UAPA had become the black box of Indian jurisprudence for a number of reasons.
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Also read: Supreme Court Issues Notice On Delhi Police Appeal Against Bail Granted To Student Activists In Riots Case; Says HC Judgment Shall Not Be Treated As Precedent In Meantime (Live Law, June 18)

Hope Floats For Bhima Koregaon Political Prisoners After Delhi HC Order

Hope Floats For Bhima Koregaon Political Prisoners After Delhi HC Order

Hope Floats For Bhima Koregaon Political Prisoners After Delhi HC Order

16/06/2021

Outlook India / by Preetha Nair

Kin and lawyers of imprisoned activists say the ruling will help in the delivery of justice.
For the past month, Jenny Rowena has been living in a hotel in Mumbai to attend to her husband Prof Hany Babu, who is undergoing treatment for a severe eye infection in a Mumbai hospital. Babu, a Delhi University associate professor was arrested by National Investigation Agency (NIA) in July 2020 in connection with Bhima Koregaon- Elgar Parishad violence and was lodged in Navi Mumbai’s Taloja jail since then.
Babu is one of the 16 prominent activists, who are facing trial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for their alleged role in the 2018 violence and links with the outlawed CPI (Maoist) outfit. One of the high-profile cases in the country involving eminent activists, lawyers, and academicians, the Bhima Koregaon case has invited criticism of international forums for the lack of due process.
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Granting bail to activists, Delhi HC exposes abuse of UAPA – but flaws inherent in the law remain

16/06/2021

Scroll.in / by Sruthisagar Yamunan

Despite the principles set by the Delhi High Court, bail under UAPA will remain discretionary.
On Tuesday, when the Delhi High Court granted bail to Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita and Asif Iqbal Tanha in the Delhi riots cases in which the three activists have been charged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, it was this simple exercise of “lifting the veil” thrown on the case by the prosecution that has led to a significant precedent.
… As seen in several recent cases, including those against activists in the Bhima Koregaon case in Maharashtra, the trial courts, more often than not, tend to agree with the prosecution on the prima facie truth of the case.
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Wrong to treat criticism as sedition: Lawyers welcome Delhi HC verdict quashing UAPA case against activists

16/06/2021

India Today / by Aneesha Mathur

Lawyers have welcomed the decision by Delhi High Court stating that protesters have the right to criticise the government. They also hailed the Court’s verdict defining the lines between criticism of the government and activities that destabilize the country.
… Lawyer Vrinda Grover also said the HC verdict was “significant” since there has been indiscriminate use of the law in recent years… He added: “In this context, we must raise the issue of incarceration of 16 human rights defenders in the Bhima Koregaon case under UAPA for almost three years and the trial is yet to commence. The judiciary must intervene and not allow the criminal legal machinery to be used by the State to suppress fundamental freedoms of citizens, otherwise democracy is in peril.”
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Also read: Supreme Court Issues Notice On Delhi Police Appeal Against Bail Granted To Student Activists In Riots Case; Says HC Judgment Shall Not Be Treated As Precedent In Meantime (Live Law, June 18)

Stan Swamy, The Majesty Of Law And The Tenets Of Justice

Stan Swamy, The Majesty Of Law And The Tenets Of Justice


Drawing by Arun Ferreira

Outlook / by Puneet Nicholas Yadav

At 84 years of age, Stan Swamy is the oldest among the 16 accused in the Bhima Koregaon case and, arguably, the oldest prison inmate across the country facing non-bailable charges under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Eight months after he was arrested and locked up in Navi Mumbai’s Taloja Jail, Stan Swamy – octogenarian Jesuit priest, tribal rights activist, public intellectual, Parkinson’s patient; and in the eyes of the BJP-led central government, an enemy of the State – is now undergoing treatment at Mumbai’s Holy Family Hospital for Covid.
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Stan Swamy case shows why bail on medical grounds remains highly discretionary

Stan Swamy case shows why bail on medical grounds remains highly discretionary

Scroll.in / by Sruthisagar Yamunan

The 84-year-old social activist, arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case, is currently in hospital with a Covid-19 infection.
On May 21, when the Bombay High Court took up for hearing a bail application from human rights activist Stan Swamy, the 84-year-old Jesuit priest made an emotional plea that he be allowed to go back to Ranchi, his home town, given his medical condition.
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