The tributes to Fr Stan by his associates and his co-accused (which were read out) provided a clue to why his death continues to touch so many.
A special NIA court here on Wednesday denied interim bail to activist Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, to visit his nonagenarian mother in wake of the death of his brother Milind Teltumbde, a top Naxal leader, in an encounter with security forces last month.
When the fierce encounter ended around 3:30 PM on Saturday after almost 10 hours, senior cadre Milind Teltumbade and 25 ultras had been killed.
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.
Suffering from Parkinson's disease and a host of other medical ailments, Swamy, who was then 83-year-old, was remanded to judicial custody following his arrest.
The Supreme Court Wedunesday sought a response from the NIA on the bail plea of activist Gautam Navlakha in the alleged Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.
Activist Gautam Navlakha, arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, has been shifted to the 'Anda Circle' (high-security barracks) in the Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai, his partner Sahba Husain said on Sunday and claimed the 70-year-old's already fragile health has deteriorated further due to shifting.
His spine, his heart, his pancreas -- one by one, all his organs have weakened, given the lack of medical treatment in jail, where he is kept in the notorious Anda cell. Continuous pain, frequent fainting spells, urinary problems, have all become part of his life.
'We urge you to take remedial measures to address this blatant injustice pending withdrawal of the case against them,' the MPs write.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Navlakha seeking that he be shifted from custody in the Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai to judicial custody in the form of house arrest owing to his advanced age and the host of ailments that he suffers from.
The United Nations has expressed concern over the killing and maiming of children who continue to be recruited and used as human shields by Maoists in India and over the threat of sexual violence against girls within Naxalite ranks.
On Wednesday, when Babu's plea came up before a bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and VG Bisht, the bench recused itself from hearing it without citing any reason.
Navlakha approached the HC last year, challenging the special NIA court's order of July 12, 2020 that rejected his plea for statutory bail.
Labelling the NIA as a 'mere political tool' of the BJP government at the Centre, Gogoi said the judgment will be a landmark for those arrested through the misuse of the two anti-terror laws.
The accused were initially placed under house arrest in August last year by the Pune Police in Maharashtra and were later taken into custody on October 26, after a sessions court in Pune rejected their bail pleas.
The Bombay high court, while hearing posthumously the appeals filed by late Jesuit priest Stan Swamy in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, on Monday said he was a wonderful person and the court had 'great respect' for his work.
The HC had last month directed that he be released immediately on bail after being discharged from hospital.
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).
The court has also said it does not find the accusations against Teltumbde to be 'inherently improbable' or 'wholly unbelievable', and prima facie he was involved in furthering activities of a banned organisation.
'...incarcerated in jails, ruining their entire families.' 'You would see that Dalits who displayed so much agitation over the Bhima-Koregaon issue are effectively silenced by the arrests of their activists by the police.' 'What can be a more pitiable state than this for a people who had just seen a ray of hope after darkness of millennia?'
As the hearing started, Justice Bhat, who was on the bench with Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit, expressed his inability to be part of the hearing but did not elaborate on the reason.
Swamy's counsel said there was negligence on part of the Taloja prison authorities, who failed to provide immediate medical attention to the Jesuit priest.
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.
They also demanded action against officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is conducting a probe into the Elgar Parishad case, and former superintendent of the Taloja jail.
Swamy died at the Holy Family Hospital, where he was admitted on May 29, in Mumbai on Monday, a day after he suffered a cardiac arrest and was put on ventilator support.
Eight activists accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, who were denied default bail by the Bombay High Court earlier this month, told the HC on Thursday that they will file review petitions against the order which was based on a "factual error".
District and Sessions Judge K D Vadane sent the two activists to police custody after district government pleader and public prosecutor Ujjwala Pawar argued in the court that since all the accused were under house arrest as per the Supreme Court's directions, they could not be interrogated in connection with the case.
Jyoti Punwani reports on the strange case of Prashant Rahi, MTech, journalist, activist, now in solitary confinement in a Maharashtra prison.
A top Maoist leader, wanted in at least 20 cases in Kerala, his wife and three others, were arrested on Monday night near Coimbatore in a "big breakthrough" for the police of four southern states.
Swamy said section 43D(5) of the UAPA was violative of the accused person's fundamental right to life and liberty as guaranteed by the Constitution even as the high court on Saturday extended the stay of the 84-year-old Jesuit priest at a private hospital in Mumbai till July 6.
Opposition leaders and activists hit out at the Centre after the death of Jesuit priest and activist Stan Swamy on Monday, saying it should be held accountable for the "ruthless" and "inhuman treatment" meted out to the 84-year-old who was suffering from multiple ailments and awaiting bail on medical grounds.
"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.
16 weapons, including 315 bore and 12 bore guns, were recovered from the spot.
The counsel of poet-activist Varavara Rao, who has been granted interim bail for six months, on Wednesday sought permission from the Bombay high court to deposit cash bonds instead of two sureties that the HC ordered as one of his bail conditions.
India in the past rejected similar reports.
The case was being probed by the Pune Police.
Will the latest development see a marked break from the way the case has been going?
The Bombay high court on Wednesday permitted Delhi University's associate professor Hany Babu, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, to be shifted to the private Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai for medical treatment.
Action should be taken against those arrested for alleged Naxal links if there was evidence, he said.
ACP Shivaji Pawar has been asked to file his affidavit by August 15.
