The 70-year-old social activist had moved HC challenging the September 5, 2022 order under the National Investigation Agency Act refusing him bail on merits.
A former Maoist speaks to Shobha Warrier
It noted that 68-year-old Ghandy was in custody for almost six years and six months during the pendency of case.
The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested a leader of Maoists-backed the People's Committee against Police Atrocities on Saturday for alleged involvement in derailment of Gyaneswari Express that left 148 people dead in West Midnapore district, the fourth arrest in the case.
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.
The top court said receiving medical treatment is a fundamental right of a prisoner.
Swamy, a Jesuit priest and activist, was arrested from Ranchi in October, 2020, and has since been lodged at the Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai.
'He did not do anything wrong. There was no crime and no evidence'
"The police not only arrested us, but also beat up some of our members mercilessly. We have not come here to break the law. Why is the police stopping us from moving freely in an independent democratic country," Patkar sought to know.
An alleged member of the banned People's Liberation Army of Manipur was arrested from Odisha by the National Investigation Agency, which is probing the nexus between Maoists and terror groups of the northeast.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested an activist of the Maoist-backed People's Committee Against Police Atrocities from a village in Jhargram in connection with the Gyaneswari Express derailment, the police said on Tuesday.
'Killer' of Assistant Sub-Inspector Lucas Tete, who was among the four cops abducted by the Maoists after an encounter in Lakhisarai, Bihar, was arrested in Jamui district on Tuesday.
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.'
With the Centre warning of action under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against civil society representatives speaking in favour of Naxals, social activist and writer Mahasweta Devi on Friday dared Union Home Minister P Chidambaram to arrest her.
Maharashtra police on Tuesday raided the homes of prominent Left-wing activists in several states and arrested at least five of them for suspected Maoist links. Near simultaneous searches were carried out at the residences of prominent Telugu poet Varavara Rao in Hyderabad, activists Vernon Gonzalves and Arun Farreira in Mumbai, trade union activist Sudha Bhardwaj in Faridabad, and civil liberties activist Gautam Navalakha in New Delhi. Subsequently, Rao, Bhardwaj and Farreira were arrested. Although Navalakha was also arrested, the Delhi high court ordered police not to take him out of the national capital at least until Wednesday. According to unconfirmed reports, others whose residences were raided are Susan Abraham, Kranthi Tekula, Father Stan Swamy in Ranchi and Anand Teltumbde in Goa. The raids were carried out as part of a probe into the violence between Dalits and the upper caste Peshwas at Koregaon-Bhima village near Pune after an event called Elgar Parishad, or conclave, on December 31 last year. Here are their brief profiles:
A total 21 people, mostly belonging to Maoist groups, were arrested from near the hotel where visiting Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi had an interaction with industrialists during the day.
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.
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 Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on Saturday Maharashtra's plea for a stay on the Bombay high court order acquitting G N Saibaba, after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's persistent pitch that the acquittal was not on merit but for want of appropriate sanction to prosecute him under the anti-terror law UAPA.
Ravi Kumar Chevori, had entered into a deal with the outlawed Maoists group to supply arms and ammunition worth Rs 40 lakhs.
A hardcore Naxalite was on Wednesday arrested in connection with the killing of Superintendent of Police Surender Babu in Bihar's Munger district six years back, police said.
The West Bengal government said on Friday that the police and intelligence agencies had got information about Maoist leader Kishenji hiding in the state and that he was likely to be arrested soon.
Indian intelligence agencies have often claimed that left-wing extremists are trying to make inroads in the militancy-hit regions of north-east to foment further unrest. But Jaideep Saikia, noted terrorism and conflict analyst, claims, "People who speak of Maoism taking roots in the north-east have not read history".
The special court judge D E Kothalikar has asked the national probe agency to file its reply on the matter on November 26.
Siladitya Chowdhury, a farmer who was dubbed a Maoist by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and arrested after he asked her a question during a rally, was on Monday denied bail by a local court.
A special court in Mumbai has denied bail to three persons accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, saying that the material on record suggests that the trio, along with other members of the CPI-Maoist, a banned organisation, hatched a "serious conspiracy" to create unrest in the country and to overthrow the Modi government.
'I was wondering whether I would ever come out alive.'
'Those giving voice to the voiceless should be welcomed, not punished.' 'Yes, I paid a price -- 10 years in jail -- but it wasn't only me who did so. There are many paying the price.'
'The wrong person had to spend a banvaas of 14 years on a wrong charge.'
The policemen left two separate letters from the Ministry of Information and Communications at the radio station, one asking the station to stop operation until further notice and the other asking to handover transmission equipment, the report said.
A police official said the five arrested are suspected to have Maoist links and had allegedly funded the Elgar Parishad conclave.
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.
Home Ministry officials have suggested that slapping of the serious charge of sedition against Kumar could be an act of "over enthusiasm" on the part of some Delhi Police officers.
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the Bombay high court order acquitting Delhi University Professor G N Saibaba in a case relating to his alleged Maoist links.
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 SC, however, rejected NIA's request for immediate stay to the order.
On January 1 in 2018, violence erupted at an event to mark 100 years of the Bhima-Koregaon battle, leaving one dead and several injured, including 10 policemen.
The apex court also rejected the plea to appoint a Special Investigation Team for probe.
Swamy, who is suffering from various health ailments including Parkinson's disease, was arrested on October 8 by the NIA.
