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Electronic records relied on during probe dubious, says Vernon Gonsalves in discharge plea

Electronic records relied on during probe dubious, says Vernon Gonsalves in discharge plea

Electronic records relied on during probe dubious, says Gonsalves in discharge plea

05/01/2023

The Indian Express / by Express News Service

Referring to multiple reports by US-based forensic consulting firm Arsenal Consulting, which said that malware was planted on the electronic devices of his co-accused, Gonsalves has said the main evidence in the case is ‘unworthy of credit’.
Vernon Gonsalves, an accused in the Elgaar Parishad case, filed his discharge application before the special court on Wednesday, stating that electronic records relied on by the investigators are dubious.
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Vernon Gonsalves cites Arsenal report to seek discharge

05/01/2023

Free Press Journal / by Bhavna Uchil

Accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case, Vernon Gonsalves has sought a clean chit and cited the US forensics firm Arsenal Consulting’s report showing that incriminating evidence was planted on devices of the accused.
Accused in the Bhima-Koregaon case, Vernon Gonsalves has sought a clean chit and cited the US forensics firm Arsenal Consulting’s report showing that incriminating evidence was planted on devices of the accused. The electronic evidence forms the foundation of the prosecution’s case. He has claimed that it’s dubious and has called into question the whole basis of the case.
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Activist Vernon Gonsalves files for discharge

04/01/2023

Hindustan Times / by Charul Shah

The activist has raised questions on the sanction given by the competent authorities to invoke charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. In the discharge plea, he has claimed that the sanctioning authority has to be independent and needs to evaluate evidence before granting sanction
Human rights activist Vernon Gonsalves has filed a plea before the special NIA court seeking discharge from the Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon violence case, claiming that there was no evidence to proceed against him. Gonsalves, arrested in August 2018, is currently lodged in Taloja jail.
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Also read:
Incriminating document found in Fr. Stan Swamy’s computer ‘planted’; similar tampering found in other Bhima Koregaon accused: Reports American forensic firm (The Leaflet / Dec 2022)
They were Accused of plotting to overthrow the Modi government – The evidence was planted, a new report says (Washington Post / Feb 2021)
Why the letter about a ‘Rajiv Gandhi-type’ assassination plot to kill Modi is fake (Dailyo.in │ by Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves │ Jun 11, 2018)

Supreme Court to take up bail pleas of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in January

Supreme Court to take up bail pleas of Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira in January

India Legal Live / by India Legal

The Supreme Court on Friday posted the bail application of academician Vernon Gonsalves, accused in the Elgar Parishad case, for hearing in the second week of January.
The Bench led by Justice Ravindra Bhat ruled that it will take up the bail petition of Gonsalves along with the bail plea of Activist Arun Ferreira, also an accused in the Elgar Parishad Maoist link case.
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Bhima Koregaon Accused (BK16) | 1 Dead, 1 on House Arrest, 3 on Bail: What of the Rest?

Bhima Koregaon Accused (BK16) | 1 Dead, 1 on House Arrest, 3 on Bail: What of the Rest?

poster by @/bakeryprasad

The Quint / by Rohini Roy

The remaining 11 continue to languish in jail — Who are they and what is the status of the case against them?
Anti-caste writer Anand Teltumbde, who walked out of jail on Saturday, 26 November, after he was granted bail on merits in connection with the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case said:
“I am definitely happy. It has been 30 months that I have been in prison. The sad part, however, is that we had to spend time in jail after being booked in a fake case.”
In the same case, two others, poet Varavara Rao and lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj – were granted bail earlier due to different reasons, while academic Gautam Navlakha was allowed house arrest on health grounds by a 19 November Supreme Court order.
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Also read:
As Bhima Koregaon case completes its fourth anniversary, State reprisal is writ large in its twists and turns (The Leaflet / June 2022)
Bhima Koregaon: Who’s who of those arrested and the developments in the case pertaining to each (The Leaflet / June 2022)

Securing the right to health of political prisoners

Securing the right to health of political prisoners

The Leaflet / by Rohin Bhatt

It is time that the right to health becomes a reality, in letter and spirit to every person, irrespective of their incarceration status. This will have to be done through a wide scale, public health campaign, and rapid recruitment of qualified doctors with training in evidence-based medicine that can provide adequate care to prisoners.
It has been good law in India since Bandhua Mukti Morcha versus Union of India (1983) that the right to health is a fundamental part of right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution…
However, what happens when you are a political prisoner in India? These rights are vitiated, and the process becomes the punishment.
Read more


Also read/watch:
Relatives of BK16 Flag Prison Authorities’ ‘Criminal Negligence’ and Deteriorating Health of Undertrials (Newsclick / Sep 2022)
Stop Denying Political Prisoners the Right to Healthcare in Jails (Peoples Union for Democratic Rights / Sep 2022)
Hunger Strike unto death against the harassment from Taloja Central Jail’s apathetic administration (By Sagar Gorkhe / May 20, 2022)

● Video: The Conditions of Prisoners in Indian Jails

By All India Lawyers’ Association for Justice – AILAJ / March 2022


en | 1:21:23 | 2022
The huge number of undertrials, the overcrowding, and the disproportional numbers of Dalit, Muslim and Adivasi prisoners are part of the prison problem in India.
We are joined by Adv. Sudha Bharadwaj for a discussion on the Conditions of Prisoners in Indian Jails.
Watch video

The plight of jailed activists in ‘police state’

The plight of jailed activists in ‘police state’

Delhi. Oct 8, 2022

The Telegraph / by Pheroze L. Vincent

Try hugging your child with one arm
Political leaders on Saturday shared the stage with relatives and friends of activists imprisoned in terror cases, listening to how bail remained a mirage for years and police prevented the accused even from hugging their children in court.
Besides the release of their loved ones, most of the speakers demanded a repeal of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) which made bail difficult to obtain, and alleged that an “undeclared emergency” had turned the country into a “police state”.
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Also read:

Report: UAPA – CRIMINALISING DISSENT AND STATE TERROR (PUCL / Sep 2022)
Download report

Vernon Gonsalves is recovering, not pressing for medical bail, says his wife

Vernon Gonsalves is recovering, not pressing for medical bail, says his wife

Vernon Gonsalves

Vernon Gonsalves is recovering, not pressing for medical bail, says his wife

17/09/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

Susan Abraham said the counsel sought access to his medical records and asked the authorities to not discharge the activist from the hospital prematurely.
Activist Vernon Gonsalves’ wife on Monday said that he is recovering at the state-run JJ Hospital in Mumbai and they are not pressing for his medical bail at the moment.
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Vernon Gonsalves bail plea to be heard on September 16

14/09/2022

The Hindu / by Special Correspondent

He was admitted to the hospital on September 8 and is currently undergoing treatment for dengue.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) court will hear activist Vernon Gonsalves’s bail on September 16 as he continues to be on oxygen support at the State-run J.J. hospital.
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Court seeks Vernon Gonsalves’s medical report from JJ Hospital

14/09/2022

The Times of India / by TNN

A special trial court on Tuesday called for a report on an affidvait from state-run J J Hospital on the health condition of Elgar Parishad case accused Vernon Gonsalves who was admitted there last week after being diagnosed with dengue.
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Also read:
Relatives of BK16 Flag Prison Authorities’ ‘Criminal Negligence’ and Deteriorating Health of Undertrials (Newsclick / Sep 2022)
Jailers’ apathy? Political prisoners’ right to life in India is ‘almost non-existent’ (Counterview / Sep 2022)

PEN America: RELEASE WRITER VERNON GONSALVES, AS HIS HEALTH WORSENS

PEN America: RELEASE WRITER VERNON GONSALVES, AS HIS HEALTH WORSENS

By PEN America

Advocates Call for Better Medical Care for Gonsalves, who Suffers from Dengue, and Others Held in Prison

September 14, 2022
Ahead of a bail hearing on Sept. 15, PEN America is calling for the immediate release from prison of Indian writer Vernon Gonsalves, due to his worsening health. Gonsalves is suffering from dengue as a result of his detention at Taloja Central Jail. PEN America urged authorities to release other writers and activists held in prison and to improve medical care for all prisoners. 

Read full statement

Gautam Navlakha approaches court again seeking mosquito net in prison

Gautam Navlakha approaches court again seeking mosquito net in prison

Seeking court’s permission to use a mosquito net !

15/09/2022

madhyamam / by Editorial Desk

Most people will remember that two years ago, an elderly man had to approach the court to seek access to a straw to drink water in prison because he suffered from tremors. Fr Stan Swamy was in jail for leading legal battles for the rights of tribal communities. His punishment included the denial of the basic right to drinking water comfortably… Prominent human rights activist and journalist Gautam Navlakha is a trial prisoner in the same Elgar Parishad case in which Stan Swamy was accused and arrested. Two days ago, Navlakha approached a special NIA court for permission to use mosquito nets in the jail.
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Gautam Navlakha approaches court again seeking mosquito net in prison

14/09/2022

Scroll.in / by Scroll Staff

He filed the application in court days after another accused person, Vernon Gonsalves, contracted dengue in jail.
In his plea, Navlakha told the court that the area in which the Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai is located is prone to dengue and malaria. “The applicant [Navlakha] is very troubled due to the influx of mosquitoes at the prison and is unable to sleep at night even after using mosquito repellents,” the plea added.
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Gautam Navlakha approaches court again seeking mosquito net

13/09/2022

The Indian Express / by Sadaf Modak

Navlakha’s application filed through lawyers Wahab Khan and Chandni Chawla said that despite these directions passed by the court, Gonsalves contracted dengue and has been unwell since August 31. Gonsalves is currently admitted at state-run J J Hospital.
Days after his co-accused in the Elgaar Parishad case, Vernon Gonsalves, contracted dengue in Taloja Central Jail, activist Gautam Navlakha again approached court seeking a mosquito net. Over the past few months, undertrials at the prison and jail authorities have faced-off over lack of mosquito nets in the prison. In May, jail authorities seized mosquito nets of undertrials stating that the strings and nails used to tie the nets can be a security risk…
Meanwhile, the special court will hear Gonsalves’ application for temporary bail on medical grounds on Friday. The court on Tuesday received a report from JJ Hospital where he is admitted.
Read more


Also read:
NIA court rejects plea to use mosquito nets in prison (The Leaflet / July 2022)
Hunger Strike unto death against the harassment from Taloja Central Jail’s apathetic administration (By Sagar Gorkhe / May 20, 2022)

‘No cop was free to take Vernon Gonsalves to JJ hospital due to fest’ / Jailers’ apathy?

‘No cop was free to take Vernon Gonsalves to JJ hospital due to fest’ / Jailers’ apathy?

‘No cop was free to take Vernon Gonsalves to JJ hospital due to fest’

13/09/2022

Times of India / by TNN

Taloja jail authorities have said Elgar Parishad case accused Vernon Gonsalves who tested positive for dengue on September 7 after several days of fever could not be admitted that day since there was no police escort due to Ganeshotsav and he was admitted to state-run JJ hospital on September 8 with an escort.
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Jailers’ apathy? Political prisoners’ right to life in India is ‘almost non-existent’

13/09/2022

Countercurrents / by By Deepika Tandon, Shahana Bhattarcharya (PUDR)

On 8th September Vernon Gonsalves, one of the 16 undertrials in the Bhima Koregaon case lodged in the anda cell of Taloja Central Jail, was diagnosed with dengue and likely pneumonia. 
Gonsalves age 65, had been suffering from fever since 30th August, but it took an appeal from his lawyer and the intervention of the Court for the Taloja Jail authorities to shift him to JJ Hospital for treatment. The fact that he was immediately put on oxygen support at the hospital, points to the apathy of the jail authorities regarding the health of prisoners lodged in their custody.
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Medical treatment was provided to activist Vernon Gonsalves in jail, NIA court told

12/09/022

MidDay / by pti

The activist (65), who was in judicial custody and lodged at the Taloja jail in neighbouring Navi Mumbai, was on September 8 admitted to the state-run JJ Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment for dengue.
Activist Vernon Gonsalves, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, was under constant medical treatment in jail once his ill health came to light and before he was diagnosed with dengue and admitted to a government hospital, prison authorities told a special NIA court here on Monday…
The activist’s plea for temporary bail on medical grounds is likely to be heard by the court on Tuesday.
Read more


Also read:
Relatives of BK16 Flag Prison Authorities’ ‘Criminal Negligence’ and Deteriorating Health of Undertrials (Newsclick / Sep 2022)

MRSD: Release Activist Vernon Gonsalves on immediate Medical bail

MRSD: Release Activist Vernon Gonsalves on immediate Medical bail

By Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy

PRESS STATEMENT
Statement by Mumbai Rises to Save Democracy – a campaign of 40+ civil society groups

MRSD is distressed to learn about the health situation of 65 year old activist, poet, and writer Vernon Gonsalves, incarcerated since 2018 in the Bhima Koregaon/Elgar Parishad case. Gonsalves started developing several symptoms, such as fever, cough, dizziness, and nausea starting on August 30, as per the affidavit filed by his lawyers in Court. However, his health condition was met with neglect and it was only after pleading several times that he was finally taken to the state-run JJ hospital on September 6. Instead of continuing his treatment there, he was taken back to jail the same day. Upon hearing about this from other co-accused, Gonsalves’ lawyers and family members moved the NIA court seeking temporary bail on medical conditions. During the hearing, the lawyers told the Court that apart from Dengue, he may also be suffering from Pneumonia.

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