"We see no reason to interfere with the high court order," said a bench of Justices U U lalit, S Ravindra Bhat and Bela M Trivedi, refusing to consider the submissions raised by the NIA which had moved the apex court against the December 1 order.
Maharashtra Police had on August 28 raided the homes of the prominent Left-wing activists in several states and arrested at least five of them for their alleged Maoist links, sparking a chorus of outrage from human rights defenders.
A court in Mumbai on Thursday once again sought a reply from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on 83-year-old tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy's request that he be provided a straw and sipper in jail.
The apex court questioning the police about the arrests said that 'dissent is the safety valve of democracy and if you don't allow these safety valves, it will burst.'
'It's little things like these -- sharing medicines, consoling each other after a mulaqat (meeting) or a tearful phone conversation with your loved ones or when we would return, dejected, when our bails were rejected -- that made our time in jail bearable.'
'Why did they attack us? What was our fault?' 'They killed a woman. They burnt down vehicles.' 'They pelted stones at us over a 45 km stretch. There was no police bandobast.'
'We are talking about history, about things that transpired.' 'If we don't know our history, we will never be able to evolve as individuals.'
Teltumbde later termed the police's case against him and several other social activists as 'harassment' and a ploy to 'humiliate' them.
On the last date of hearing, the Maharashtra police had produced additional letters to establish Moist links of the arrested accused even as the petitioners described it as cooked-up evidence.
'At this age we all know that death is inevitable, but everyone wants to die with dignity.' 'The judges have given the answer.'
Jesuit priest and activist Stan Swamy, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, has tested positive for coronavirus.
Joginder Tuteja looks at the upcoming films and their release dates.
Babu, who teaches English at the Delhi University, was booked under Indian Penal Code sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 121 and 121A (waging or attempting to wage war against government), 124A (sedition), among others.
The Bombay high court on Thursday asked the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai not to discharge Delhi University associate professor Hany Babu, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, till June 1 and sought a medical report on his condition and treatment given to him.
'Anybody and everybody who opposes this government for whatever reasons will be branded a terrorist and charged in such a manner that all human rights will be taken away.'
The poet and professor's 'life breath is now in the hands of those sworn to uphold his Constitutional right to life.' 'Will they be true to their oath?', asks Jyoti Punwani.
'The Congress should have accepted our demands.' 'Gone are the days when it could decide how many crumbs to throw at us.' 'Now, we make the demands.'
The law permits a person to approach the police or a magistrate to lodge a complaint and get their grievances addressed, the court noted.
The case pertains to the organisation of Elgar Parishad in Pune on December 31, 2017 which promoted enmity between various caste groups and led to violence, resulting in the loss of life and property and statewide agitation in Maharashtra, an NIA spokesperson said.
The Bombay High Court on Monday adjourned till September 24 the hearing on the plea for interim bail extension of poet-activist Varavara Rao, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, and said he need not surrender to Taloja prison authorities till September 25.
And the only answer one can think of is that this is being done to preserve the image of toughness and 56 inches and all the rest of it, notes Aakar Patel.
'Such a serious threat -- to assassinate the prime minister of India, no less -- was not handed over to the Maharashtra Anti Terrorist Squad for investigation, but to the Pune crime branch.' 'So much for seriousness in tackling such a grave issue,' says N Suresh.
"The painful wait that Swamy will have to endure for a sipper cannot be tolerated any longer. December 4, when the very same court decides again, is seven days away. Stan cannot be refused fluids for such a long period. The NPRD and its affiliating units have therefore decided to send sippers to the jailor of Taloja Jail, Maharashtra, to be given to Stan Swamy," the NPRD said in a statement.
The Bombay high court directed the Taloja prison authorities on Wednesday to take jesuit priest Stan Swamy, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, to the JJ Hospital in Mumbai for a medical examination.
"How can the police do this? The matter is sub judice. The Supreme Court is seized of the matter. In such cases, revealing information pertaining to the case is wrong," Justice Bhatkar said.
In his plea, Navlakha, 69, also sought that the HC direct authorities of the Taloja prison in neighbouring Navi Mumbai to get him medically examined for a lump developed in his chest.
Swamy, 83, who is suffering from various health issues including Parkinson's disease, was arrested on October 8 and has been lodged at the Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai.
Former Aligarh Muslim University student Sharjeel Usmani, accused of hurting religious sentiments with his comments at last week's Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune, will be arrested from whichever state he is in, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said on Wednesday.
Congress-NCP-Sena leaders discount reading too much into the meeting between the Maharashtra CM and prime minister.
Recently, the Bombay high court had set aside the lower court's order allowing extension of time to police to file its probe report against the rights activists in the violence case.
Teltumbde, the grandson-in-law of Dalit icon Dr B R Ambedkar, was produced before a special NIA court judge A T Wankehede after his remand ended on Saturday.
Khalid said that he was informed by Mevani about the threats, and he has not received any call himself till now.
'They (the government) want to tame everything.' 'The entire systems they are trying to change.'
The Delhi high court freed Navlakha from house arrest on Monday, five weeks after he and four other rights activists were arrested in connection with the Koregaon-Bhima violence in Maharashtra.
Given the costs, you would need to be a high-value target for a government agency to spend this sort of money, points out Devangshu Datta.
Unlike other top police officers, A A Khan spoke boldly --- be it while defending 'encounters' in many of which he was involved, or in tracing the cause of the ghastly Radhabai Chawl incident, recalls Jyoti Punwani. Encounters were useful, he said, because hardened criminals who were targeted were beyond reform and no good for society.
'After Father Stan Swamy's death one thing has become very clear, that if you fight for justice in India you will be called a Maoist by the State.'
Till late Sunday night, the 84-year-old Jesuit priest was on ventilator support, the senior counsel told PTI. Swamy has been undergoing treatment at the Holy Family Hospital in Mumbai, following a court order on May 28.
'This is how Narendra Modi-Amit Shah rule. They are now announcing that these arrested Naxalites want to kill Modi.'
She has been in custody as an undertrial since her arrest in 2018.
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