Varavara Rao – Page 4 – free them all

Day to day hearing of discharge applications in Bhima Koregaon – Elgar Parishad case begins

27/09/2022 Asha

Day to day hearing of discharge applications in Elgar Parishad case begins

28/09/2022

India Today / by Vidya

A special National Investigation Agency court in Mumbai began a day-to-day hearing of four discharge applications filed by the Elgar Parishad.
Highlights
▪ Mumbai’s special National Investigation Agency court began a day-to-day hearing in Elgar Parishad case
▪ The court to hear four discharge applications filed by the accused
▪ Three more discharge applications were filed on Tuesday
… Procedurally, courts hear the discharge applications, and if it finds no material against the accused in the charge sheet filed by the investigators, it discharges the accused.
However, if the court finds substantial evidence, the discharge plea gets rejected, and a full-fledged trial ensues.
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Bhima Koregaon case trial process begins over four years after case was registered

28/09/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

An NIA court started hearing a discharge plea filed by Sudhir Dhawale, one of the accused persons.
A Mumbai court on Tuesday started hearing the first of the seven discharge applications filed by accused persons in the Bhima Koregaon case, Bar and Bench reported. The hearing marks the beginning of the trial process in the case four years after it was filed in 2018.
The development came after the Supreme Court, on August 19, ordered a National Investigation Agency court to decide on framing charges against the accused persons within three months.
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Mumbai Court begins hearing discharge applications of accused

28/09/2022

Bar & Bench / by Neha Joshi

The Court also rejected an application filed by octogenarian P Varavara Rao seeking permission to live in Hyderabad for 3 months in order to conduct cataract surgery.
A Mumbai court on Tuesday began hearing the first of the seven discharge applications filed by the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case of 2018.
The hearing on discharge is the first step towards framing of charges, thus, kick-starting the trial in the case which has been pending in the pre-trial stage since 2018.
This development comes in compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court in August asking the special court to decide on framing of charges within 3 months.
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Three more accused, including activist Navlakha, seek discharge in Elgar case

27/09/2022

The New Indian Express / by pti

While Navlakha and Babu are currently in jail under judicial custody, Bharadwaj is out on bail.
Activists Gautam Navlakha, Sudha Bharadwaj and Delhi University professor Hany Babu, all accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, on Tuesday moved discharge applications before the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court here …
Meanwhile, the court on Tuesday heard the arguments on the discharge plea of another accused, Sudhir Dhawale. The arguments will continue on Wednesday …
The discharge pleas of some other accused – Jyoti Jagtap, Anand Teltumbde and Mahesh Raut – were also pending before the court.
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Special NIA court rejects Varavara Rao’s plea to go home, says it has to frame charges in case

26/09/2022 Asha

Allowing Varavara Rao to travel will delay framing of charges, says NIA court

27/09/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

The 83-year-old activist had told the judge that he has cataracts in both eyes and the condition requires surgery.
Framing of charges in the Elgar Parishad case will get delayed if Varavara Rao is allowed to travel to Hyderabad for cataract surgery, a National Investigation Agency court has said while denying permission to the activist, Live Law reported.
Rao was denied permission to travel by the court on Friday. A detailed order was made available on Monday.
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Can’t Allow Varavara Rao To Stay In Hyderabad For Three Months For Cataract Treatment, Will Delay Framing of Charges: NIA Court

26/09/2022

Live Law / by Live Law News Network

Observing that framing of charges in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad caste violence case will get delayed, the Special Court last week rejected poet-accused Varavara Rao’s application to undergo cataract treatment in Hyderabad.
Special Judge Rajesh Katariya cited the recent SC judgement granting Rao bail in which it was said that a decision on framing of charges must be taken within three months.
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Special NIA court rejects Varavara Rao’s plea to go home, says it has to frame charges in Elgar Parishad case

26/09/2022

India Toda / by Vidya

The NIA opposed the application, saying the treatment sought by Rao was available in Mumbai and that he was only seeking to nullify the SC’s terms for granting him medical bail.
A special NIA court in Mumbai has rejected the request of Telugu poet and Elgar Parishad accused Varavara Rao to go to Hyderabad for three months to undergo cataract surgery. The court said it had to frame charges against the accused within the next three months and so rejected the request.
Read more

Also read:
● Supreme Court directs trial court to expeditiously frame charges and decide discharge pleas (The Leaflet / Aug 2022)

Court rejects Varavara Rao’s plea for short stay in Hyderabad for cataract surgery

23/09/2022 Asha

Court rejects Varavara Rao’s plea for short stay in Hyderabad for cataract surgery

24/09/2022

Hindustan Times / by Charul Shah

The special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Friday rejected the plea of Telugu poet Varavara Rao, an accused in the Elgar Parishad – Bhima Koregaon violence case, seeking permission for a short stay in Hyderabad for undergoing cataract surgery.
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Court Rejects Varavara Rao’s Plea To Go To Hyderabad For Eye Surgery

23/09/2022

Outlook India / by pti

A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Mumbai on Friday rejected the plea of poet-activist Varavara Rao, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, seeking permission to travel to Hyderabad for cataract surgery.
The Supreme Court had, in August, granted medical bail to the 82-year-old activist, with his bail conditions being set by the special NIA court presiding over the case.
Read more

Also read:
● Varavara Rao told to remain in Mumbai, not to make statement on case to media (The Indian Express / Aug 2022)
● Supreme Court grants permanent medical bail to P. Varavara Rao in Bhima Koregaon case (The Leaflet / Aug 2022)

Vernon Gonsalves Is Latest Victim of Prison Staff’s Medical Neglect

08/09/2022 Asha

NIA court demands explanation from Taloja authorities on delay of treatment

09/09/2022

Hindustan Times / by Charul Shah

Only on September 5 Gonsalves was shifted to prison hospital as his condition had worsened.
The special NIA court on Thursday directed the superintendent of the Taloja Jail to provide proper medical treatment to Vernon Gonsalves, an accused in the Elgar Parishad case, who has been diagnosed with dengue.
It has also reprimanded the prison authority for failing to respond to Gonsalves’s plea for medical treatment till Thursday.
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Vernon Gonsalves Is Latest Victim of Prison Staff’s Medical Neglect

08/09/2022

The Wire / by Sukanya Shantha

JJ Hospital has confirmed that Gonsalves has been suffering from dengue for close to two weeks and that he could have developed pneumonia too.
Over 10 days ago, Vernon Gonsalves, a Mumbai-based human rights activist and one of the 16 persons arrested in the Elgar Parishad case, had a high-grade fever. He fainted several times in jail and at one point couldn’t move. The Taloja central prison staff, however, only administered him paracetamol and refused to refer him to a hospital.
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Vernon Gonsalves on oxygen support after contracting dengue in prison

08/09/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

His wife, lawyer Susan Abraham, told Scroll.in that the 65-year-old undertrial should have been admitted to hospital ‘long back’.
Activist Vernon Gonsalves, who is among those accused in the Elgar Parishad case, is on oxygen support in Mumbai’s JJ Hospital after contracting dengue in prison, his wife, lawyer Susan Abraham, told Scroll.in on Thursday.
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Pandu Narote’s Death: A Reminder of Stan Swamy’s Demise, GN Saibaba’s Struggles

08/09/2022

The Quint / by Mekhala Saran

When Pandu Narote died on 25 August, once again questions arose regarding the treatment of ailing inmates.
In February 2020, granting bail to Bhima Koregaon accused Varavara Rao, on medical grounds, the Bombay High Court had noted that “sending him back to prison is fraught with risk.”
… In May, 2021, while the second wave of COVID-19 wreaked devastation across the country, the family and friends of the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, who have been lodged in Mumbai’s Taloja and Byculla jail, held a press conference drawing attention to the purportedly dangerous living conditions there. These included overcrowding, the lack of medical care, paucity of clean water, and flimsy access to basic human rights.
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► Also read/listen: Bhima Koregaon, COVID-19 And Custodial Apathy In Jails / Audio + Press Release (May 2021)
► Also read: Crowded Jails & COVID: 16 Bhima Koregaon Accused’s Kin Share Fears (The Quint / May 2021)

Varavara Rao Will Not Make Media Statements On Bhima Koregaon Case: NIA Court Sets Bail Conditions

20/08/2022 Asha

Varavara Rao told to remain in Mumbai, not to make statement on case to media

21/08/2022

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Among the bail conditions set for Varavara Rao include that he shall reside within Greater Mumbai and shall furnish a detailed address of his residence.
Days after the Supreme Court granted bail to Telugu poet and activist P Varavara Rao, who was booked in the Elgaar Parishad case, the special court in Mumbai set conditions for his bail, including that he shall not make any statement with regard to the matter in the media.
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Varavara Rao Will Not Make Media Statements On Bhima Koregaon Case: NIA Court Sets Bail Conditions

20/08/2022

Live Law / by Sharmeen Hakim

A special NIA court in Mumbai set 12 bail conditions for Telugu poet Dr P Varavara Rao accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, including a restriction on talking about the case at any media forum…
On August 10, the Supreme Court granted bail to Rao on medical grounds, and had imposed a condition that he should should not leave the Greater Mumbai region without the permission of the trial court.
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‘No statement on case to media’: Special court sets conditions for Varavara Rao’s bail

20/08/2022

The Indian Express / by Express News Updates

Among the bail conditions set for Varavara Rao include that he shall reside within Greater Mumbai and shall furnish a detailed address of his residence.
Days after the Supreme Court granted bail to Telugu poet and activist P Varavara Rao who was booked in the Elgaar Parishad case, the special court in Mumbai set conditions for his bail, including that he shall not make any statement with regard to the matter in the media.
Read more

Also read:
● ‘First Step Towards Acquittal’: Varavara Rao’s Family on Bail by Supreme Court (The Quint / Aug 2022)
● Supreme Court grants permanent medical bail to P. Varavara Rao in Bhima Koregaon case (The Leaflet / Aug 2022)

Of 16 Arrested Accused in Elgar Parishad Case, One Dead, Two Out on Bail and Rest in Jail

19/08/2022 Asha

Of 16 Arrested Accused in Elgar Parishad Case, One Dead, Two Out on Bail and Rest in Jail

19/08/2022

The Wire / by pti

With the Supreme Court stipulating that charges in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case be framed within the next three months, the focus has shifted now to the status of the accused.
With the Supreme Court stipulating that charges in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case be framed within the next three months, the focus has shifted now to the status of the accused.
In the case that is being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), of the total 16 arrested accused, Jesuit priest Stan Swamy died at a private hospital here last year during judicial custody, while Telugu poet Varavara Rao is currently out on medical bail. Only one accused – Sudha Bharadwaj – is out on regular bail.
Read more

Also read:
● Who’s who of those arrested and the developments in the case pertaining to each (The Leaflet / June 2022)
● As Bhima Koregaon case completes its fourth anniversary, State reprisal is writ large in its twists and turns (The Leaflet / June 2022)

Supreme Court Asks Special NIA Court To Decide On Framing Charges Within 3 Months

18/08/2022 Asha

SC Asks NIA Court To Frame Charges Within 3 Months

18/08/2022

The Quint / by The Quint

The Supreme Court also allowed Varavara Rao to approach the trial court with his plea to travel to Hyderabad.
The Supreme Court on Thursday, 18 August, asked the Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court to decide on framing charges in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon case within a period of three months.
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Supreme Court Asks Special NIA Court To Decide On Framing Charges Within 3 Months

18/08/2022

Live Law / by Rintu Mariam Biju

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Special NIA Court to decide on framing charges in the Bhima Koregaon case within a period of three months. The Court also directed the NIA Court to decide the discharge applications filed by the accused in the case simultaneously.
A bench comprising Justice UU Lalit and Justice Ravindra Bhat passed the direction while considering a petition field by accused Vernon Gonsalves seeking bail in the case.
Read more

Also read:
● Who’s who of those arrested and the developments in the case pertaining to each (The Leaflet / June 2022)
● What NIA draft charges submitted in court say, against whom (Indian Express / Aug 2021)
● NIA Submits Draft Charges in Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad Case: Read Details (Live Law / Aug 2021)

Trial court can decide Varavara Rao’s plea to visit Hyderabad for surgery: SC

17/08/2022 Asha

The Hindu / by pti

Mr. Rao’s bail conditions do not permit travel out of Greater Mumbai
The Supreme Court on August 16 allowed activist-poet Varavara Rao, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, to move the trial court for permission to go to his native Hyderabad for cataract surgery in order to spare himself the expenses of doing it in Mumbai.
A three-judge Bench led by Justice U.U. Lalit asked the trial court to decide Mr. Rao’s plea, if made, for leave to go to Hyderabad, within three weeks.
Read more

Also read:
● Supreme Court grants permanent medical bail to P. Varavara Rao in Bhima Koregaon case [read order] (The Leaflet / Aug 2022)

Any litigation is like a war: Anand Grover

16/08/2022 Asha

Rediff.com / by Jyoti Punwani

‘You know the factors against you and those in favour, and you use the weapons you have in accordance with the strategy you’ve developed.’
Senior Counsel Anand Grover, last week got regular bail on medical grounds from the Supreme Court for Telugu poet and Bhima Koregaon accused Professor Varavara Rao.
“With all these ailments, if at his age, he were to go back to Taloja jail, his situation would deteriorate,” Grover tells Jyoti Punwani.
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Varavara Rao: The old man won’t die in jail. Thanks, SC

15/08/2022

Deccan Herald / by DH News Service

The grant of permanent bail to 82-year-old poet and activist Varavara Rao by the Supreme Court in the Bhima-Koregaon case came after a long and difficult legal struggle.
He was arrested under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in 2018 and was granted medical bail in 2021. It had been extended from time to time on medical grounds. Now, the SC has granted him regular bail with conditions.
Read more

Also read:
● Supreme Court grants permanent medical bail to P. Varavara Rao in Bhima Koregaon case (The Leaflet / Aug 2022)

On courts and the tenability of the case / “When Will Trial Start?”: SC asks NIA

12/08/2022 Asha

Just in case: On courts and the tenability of the Bhima Koregaon case

12/08/2022

The Hindu / by Editorial

It is time the tenability of the Bhima Koregaon case was examined by courts.
The grant of bail to the 82-year-old Telugu poet and activist, Varavara Rao, on medical grounds is a welcome relief to at least one of those arraigned in the controversial Bhima-Koregaon case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
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Punishing process: Supreme Court bail for Varavara Rao again raises questions for the justice system

11/08/2022

Times of India / by TOI Edit

In granting permanent medical bail to Varavara Rao, the Supreme Court has made it clear that stringent restrictions against bail in laws like UAPA don’t hinder constitutional courts from protecting fundamental rights. Last year, SC had relied on this principle to uphold bail to a UAPA accused – arguing that his incarceration for over five years while the trial crawled on was unjustified. But Rao’s bail, granted on technical grounds – medical condition, advanced age, adherence to bail conditions, delay in framing charges – doesn’t answer any of the larger questions confronting the justice system.
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“When Will Trial Start?”, “How Will Letters Be Proved?”, Supreme Court Asks NIA In Bhima Koregaon Case

10/08/2022

Live Law / by Livelaw News Network

While hearing Varavara Rao’s bail application, the Supreme Court on Wednesday posed a host of queries to the National Investigation Agency on the Bhima Koregaon case, in which the agency has kept in custody several persons from academic-activist backgrounds on UAPA charges over alleged links with banned Maoist organization.
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