He is neither a victim of the violence that broke out at Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018 nor an eye-witness to it. Yet, Bhimrao Bansod testified for a full 14 days before the judicial commission of inquiry set up to inquire into the violence.
Prolonged incarceration without trial amounts to infringement of the right to life under the Constitution, the Bombay high court said while urging a special court to expedite the trial in the 2018 Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
The judge said 'such books' and CDs prima facie indicated they contained some material against the state.
Kabir Kala Manch activists had allegedly made provocative speeches leading to violence at Koregaon Bhima in the district, according to an FIR registered at Vishrambaug police station after the event.
Prakash Ambedkar, the grandson of Dalit icon B R Ambedkar, said Maharashtra Democratic Front, Maharashtra Left Front, besides 250 organisations, have supported Wednesday's shutdown.
'The continuing crisis in agriculture, the inability of successive governments to provide secure jobs to millions of youths having varying degrees of skills, and fragmentation of politics have created a sense of despondency.'
Ekbote was arrested soon after the Supreme Court turned down his anticipatory bail plea earlier in the day, the official added.
Hany Babu Musaliyarveettil Tharayil, 54, a resident of Gautam Buddha Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, is an associate professor in the Department of English
The FIR against him was re-registered in January 2020, and Navlakha had surrendered before the NIA on April 14, last year. According to the prosecution, some activists allegedly made inflammatory speeches and provocative statements at the Elgar Parishad meet in Pune on December 31, 2017, which triggered violence at Koregaon Bhima in the district the next day.
Action should be taken against those arrested for alleged Naxal links if there was evidence, he said.
'We told the victims this was the only opportunity for them to get their story recorded.' 'If they did not recount their version the other side would concoct their own theory about what happened at Bhima-Koregaon.'
The draft lays down 17 charges against 15 accused, including human rights and civil liberties activists, and they have been sought to be charged under various sections of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
'We are known political activists, so the police put our names in.'
The bench, which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, told the Maharashtra government to make its police officials "more responsible" on matters pending before the court.
The court asked the Maharashtra police to file their case diary pertaining to the ongoing investigation in the case by September 24.
Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote -- the right-wing Hindu activists from Maharashtra - are no strangers to controversy.
'Today we know of many X, Y, and Z persons as urban Naxals but can we call these people as such?' 'No, we cannot because we don't have a legal framework for doing that.'
'The police are busy arresting people from Delhi, but not those we saw burning our home!'
Navlakha, who had surrendered before the NIA on April 14 in pursuance to the Supreme Court's direction and was lodged in Tihar jail, was taken to Mumbai by train on May 26.
The bench suggested that the hearing be adjourned "sine die" (adjournment of proceedings with no date of resumption).
Justices Arif S Doctor and Somasekhar Sundaresan held there was nothing in the MCC that would interfere with the Board's ongoing activities.
The friends and relatives of 16 accused, including Hany Babu, Stan Swamy and Sudha Bharadwaj, made the demand during a virtual press conference.
Either this affidavit was prepared a long time back, or, Ambedkar has not been following the Commission's hearings.
The court was hearing the plea filed against the arrest of the rights activists -- Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira, Vernon Gonsalves, Sudha Bharadwaj and Gautam Navlakha -- in the case.
'She had been in jail for nearly 6 years; the charges had not been framed and the trial had not begun.' 'Even if it began, it would take years to complete.'
He could have blazed a trail that few Indian judges had. It was a missed opportunity of a lifetime, notes Ramesh Menon.
The Delhi high said that the trial court order was unsustainable in law.
'We were sure our appeal would succeed. We knew we could break down the evidence and show it was hollow.'
The prosecution, while opposing the bail applications, had argued that they have "corrborative evidence" against the accused to prove their involvement in Maoist activities, such as mobilising cadres, recruiting students from eminent institutes and sending them to the interior to become "professional revolutionaries", raise funds and procure weapons.
'In spite of all these days behind the bars, none of those who have been arrested is repenting their decision to stand against the injustice of this government.'
The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to activist Gautam Navlakha in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
The apex court also rejected the plea to appoint a Special Investigation Team for probe.
Shivaji Pawar made a startling revelation: Though the subject matter of his investigation was the January 1 violence, he had not examined any of the witnesses to that violence.
For four days, the officer avoided giving any straight answers, becoming the first witness in the 48 witnesses that have appeared so far, to have achieved this feat.
Bhima Koregaon represents what the government can do in India against well meaning people who speak up against atrocities, who stand up for the weak and the dispossessed and for this reason alone as seen as enemies of the State and kept in prison for as long as the government can manage. So long as the rest of us do not speak up against this misbehaviour by the State, so long as we forget about those who have been made its victims, this behaviour will continue, asserts Aakar Patel.
The foundation of the Bhima Koregaon case was blown to bits by a senior policeman, reports Jyoti Punwani.
Building your Retirement Nidhi is your Karmayoga, ensuring a Golden Yug where you can truly enjoy the fruits of your labour, says Vatsal Ramaiya as he explains how Rs 15,000 per month can help build a Rs 7 crore corpus.
Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case accused and former Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen was released from a prison in Mumbai on Wednesday afternoon, an official said.
The case pertains to the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which according to the Pune police was funded by Maoists.
Senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, appearing for Navlakha, contested the figure of Rs 1.64 crore saying the agency's calculation of the amount payable was wrong and contrary to the relevant rules.
