MUMBAI: Scholar-activist Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, was on Saturday released from the Taloja central prison in Navi Mumbai, a day after the Supreme Court rejected the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) plea challenging the bail granted to him, an official said. Teltumbde, 73, who spent two-and-a-half years behind bars in the case, walked out of the jail around 1.15pm, he said. "On Friday, the apex court had dismissed the NIA's plea challenging the Bombay High Court's order giving bail to Teltumbde. Accordingly, he was released after the completion of bail formalities," he said. On November 18, the high court had granted bail to Teltumbde, who was arrested by the central agency on April 14, 2020, after he surrendered before the NIA, the official said. Teltumbde is the third of the 16 accused arrested in the case to be released on bail. Poet Varavara Rao is currently out on bail on health grounds while lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj is out on regular bail. The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city. Pune Police had also claimed that the conclave was organised by some persons with alleged Maoist links. A First Information Report was lodged by Pune Police on January 8, 2018, under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The NIA later took over the case. Teltumbde had claimed he was not present at the December 31, 2017 Elgar Parishad event held in Pune city, nor made any provocative speeches.
The Supreme Court Friday dismissed the appeal filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) challenging the Bombay High Court order granting bail to Elgaar Parishad case accused Anand Teltumbde.A bench headed by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, and including Justice Hima Kohli, heard the matter for over an hour and said, “We will not interfere.” It dismissed the appeal with a two-line order: “The SLP is dismissed. However, the observations in the impugned judgment of the High Court shall not be treated as conclusive final findings in all proceedings.”Teltumbde, who is lodged in Taloja jail, is likely to be released on Saturday after his lawyers completed the bail formalities and a special court in Mumbai issued the release memo. He was informed about the Supreme Court’s decision by a lawyer after he was brought before the special court for a hearing along with the other arrested accused.Earlier, in the Supreme Court, Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the NIA, said the agency had in its possession documents allegedly recovered from Teltumbde’s computer as well as that of co-accused. Bhati contended that these documents established that Teltumbde is allegedly “actively involved in planning, funds transfer, conspiracy propagating, recruiting, etc.,” on behalf of CPI (Maoist), which is a proscribed outfit under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.In this context, Bhati cited a letter allegedly from an absconding accused in the case, “Comrade Prakash”, to Teltumbde. Asserting that this was seized from the computer of co-accused Rona Wilson, Bhati read out from the purported letter, saying “the CC (Central Committee of CPI (Maoist)… has agreed to allocate additional funds Rs 10 lakh yearly to organise international seminar…We have also sent funds for your upcoming… human rights convention at Paris. International campaigns can give more traction to domestic chaos. Frequent chaos and protests will lead to breakdown of law and order and this will have significant political ramifications in the coming months…”The NIA counsel also cited the statement of a protected witness that the accused’s younger brother Milind Teltumbde had allegedly said he took to Maoism inspired by Anand Teltumbde. Milind was the secretary of the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh zone of the CPI (Maoist). He was killed in an encounter with security forces in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli in November 2021.The agency cited another document that was allegedly recovered from the computer of a co-accused Surendra Gadling in which he purportedly says he met a comrade as instructed and that the latter had appreciated his “efforts to provide information on enemy movements in Bastar and other areas of interest”.“I am consistently building contacts within the Delhi administration to further refine this process…If it was possible I would do anything to see the officers lying in pool of blood. Central and state forces are completely rattled at this time which is also evident from their decision to intensify their operations of the Cobra unit in Bastar,” said Bhati, reading out in court from the purported document.The NIA also pointed to a purported letter from Wilson to “Comrade Prakash” about Teltumbde allegedly agreeing to coordinate the activities of a fact-finding commission which the Maoists intended to set up to look into “fake encounters” by security forces.The bench asked, “What is the specific role attributable to him if you bring the provisions of UAPA into operation?”ASG Bhati responded that “the scheme of this act is that terrorist act is not required to be committed”. “Even without terrorist act, unlawful activities which are in the nature preparatory work, of association in any manner, coordinating with these proscribed organisations,” Bhati said.She contended that Teltumbde’s “academics was his front face”. Pointing out that he was delivering lectures in events by organisations that were fronts of CPI (Maoist), she said that “it is not his lectures that are the problem but what is going on in the garb of his front face is the problem…He can speak what he likes, but once there is an organisation that is proscribed, which is indulging in terrorist activities, and this kind of strong association with the ideology, with funds transfer, with organising a fact finding missions, recruiting people…”Appearing for Anand Telbumbde, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal said that the “documents shown by NIA are not recovered from me…They are recovered allegedly from Rona Wilson’s computer, not mine.”The court pointed out that there were some emails recovered by him as per the chargesheet.Sibal, however, said they were “about fact finding, these are academics”. He said, “…none of the emails have any relation to any provisions of the Act. The threshold under the Act is very high.”Stating that Teltumbde was an academic, Sibal said, “Basically, his subject is Dalits. Wherever there is an issue of Dalits, he is out there as an academician to deal with it… If in the process, there is some organisation which according to them is closly associated with some other organisation, then I am speaking there as an academician, that doesn’t make me a terrorist.”He also denied that Teltumbde had received funds from Maoists to attend international seminars. “There is no evidence of any money coming in from them… They alleged I went to Paris and the fund was paid by CPI (Maoists) but the American Institute in Paris wrote to us that all expenses are paid by the Institute. And it was an academic conference,” Sibal argued.Sibal said that Teltumbde was estranged from his brother Milind and had not met him for the last 30 years. “What they have is a Section 161 statement of a person who says somebody else told him that I had met Milind,” he said.Sibal said there is “nothing palpably wrong with the High Court’s findings that there is no prima facie evidence to connect him with Maoist activity…The High Court applied its mind and prima facie says there doesn’t seem to be any violation of the Acts itself. And granted bail”.In its order, the Bombay High Court had allowed Teltumbde to deposit a cash bail of Rs 1 lakh and furnish local sureties within a period of eight weeks. Among the other conditions were that he has to furnish his contact numbers and address, and submit his passport to the NIA.Teltumbde’s lawyer Neeraj Yadav informed the court that the passport was submitted to the NIA at the time of his arrest. The NIA told the court that the passport was in the court’s custody as it was given at the time of the supplementary chargesheet being filed. After verification, special judge Rajesh Katariya issued the release order.Among the other conditions were that Teltumbde cannot leave the jurisdiction of the special court without prior permission, and cannot tamper with evidence or influence witnesses.While Teltumbde’s wife Rama was in the Supreme Court for the appeal hearing, he was accompanied by the other co-accused and their relatives who welcomed the apex court’s decision with hugs and tears.
The Supreme Court on Friday (November 25) dismissed the NIA’s challenge to the Bombay High Court order giving bail to scholar-activist Anand Teltumbde, 73, in the Elgar Parishad case.A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud and Justice Hima Kohli declined to interfere with the HC order of November 18. The HC Bench comprising Justices A S Gadkari and Milind Jadhav had said prima facie “it cannot be concluded that Teltumbde has indulged in a terrorist act”.According to a report by Live Law, on Friday, CJI Chandrachud asked counsel for NIA, “What is the specific role to bring UAPA sections into action? The IIT Madras event you alleged is for Dalit mobilisation. Is Dalit mobilisation preparatory act to proscribed activity?”The Bench, however, added that the HC’s observations will not be treated as conclusive final findings at the trial.Sixteen accused including Teltumbde had been arrested in the Elgar Parishad case — nine individuals were arrested by the Pune Police in 2018, and seven were arrested by the NIA after it took over the investigation in 2020.One of the accused, Father Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist, passed away in July 2021 while in judicial custody.Telugu poet and activist Varavara Rao was granted bail on medical grounds by the Supreme Court in August this year. Lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj was granted default bail in December last year. Teltumbde is the third accused in the case to be given bail.On November 19, activist Gautam Navlakha was moved from Taloja Central Prison to house arrest in Navi Mumbai after the Supreme Court rejected the NIA’s appeal against the court’s earlier order allowing his house arrest.The other accused, including activists Vernon Gonsalves, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, and Prof Shoma Sen, remain in jail.The case dates back to the Elgar Parishad event held in Shaniwar Wada in Pune on December 31, 2017. A day later, violent clashes broke out between Maratha and Dalit groups near Bhima Koregaon in Maharashtra.Police alleged that the violence was instigated by “inflammatory speeches” given at the Elgar event in Pune. However, Dalit groups and many others, including NCP chief Sharad Pawar, accused right-wing leaders Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide of instigating the violence through hate speeches.The Pune Police started raiding the homes and offices of those who had attended the Elgar event and seized their electronic devices. Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson, Surendra Gadling, Shoma Sen, Mahesh Raut, Arun Ferreira, Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves, and Sudha Bharadwaj were arrested in 2018. Police accused them of being members of the banned CPI(Maoist), and of involvement in furthering its activities.In December 2019, a month after the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government came to power in Maharashtra, the central government transferred the case to the NIA. By then, the Pune Police had filed two chargesheets against the nine accused.In 2020, the NIA arrested Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha, Hany Babu, Jyoti Jagtap, Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor, and Stan Swamy. A third charge sheet was filed in the case in October 2020.In August 2021, the NIA submitted to the sessions court the draft charge against the accused. The draft charges include the sections under which the prosecuting agency proposes to charge the accused based on the evidence it has collected and submitted before the court. The accused face various sections, including under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has approached the Supreme Court, challenging the bail granted to Elgar Parishad case accused Anand Teltumbde by the Bombay High Court, stating that the observations made in the HC order were contrary to what the apex court had said in the past, and that observations in the bail order “would influence the trial and investigation”.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta mentioned the matter before a bench presided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, which agreed to take it up on November 25.In its appeal challenging the November 18 order of the Bombay HC granting the relief, the NIA said that if the accused is granted bail, “the efforts of the investigating agency…which is already undergoing great difficulty in unearthing the evidence against” Teltumbde “would suffer a fatal blow” and that he “upon being freed from the judicial custody would ensure that no evidence whatsoever could surface”.The agency contended that the HC had “erroneously granted bail” to him “by conducting a mini-trial and roving inquiry, analysing each and every document and (Section) 164 statements threadbare contrary to the settled law and judicial pronouncements of” the Supreme Court.The High Court, it said, “has made observations that would influence the trial and investigation” in the case.Teltumbde, the agency said, “is an active and senior member” of the CPI (Maoist) “working in the urban areas… regularly in contact with other co-accused… and has been actively involved in furthering the larger conspiracy and commission of various crimes on behalf of the terrorist organisation”.The accused, said the agency, was also the general secretary of Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights (CPDR) and a member of Anuradha Ghandy Memorial Committee, which are “frontal organisations” of the Maoists.The appeal said he [Teltumbde] “was instrumental in organising fact-finding missions” on the directions of the party “which had allocated Rs 10 lakh for the purpose of his international campaign and visits in furtherance of the” Maoist agenda.The NIA said “his mention was found in certain incriminating letters and documents of CPI (Maoist) particularly a letter written on 2/1/2018 by his brother… Milind Teltumbde to accused Rona Wilson”. Milind was secretary of the Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh zone of the CPI (Maoist). He was killed in an encounter with security forces in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli in November 2021.It said that Teltumbde “used to attend international conferences under the guise of his academic visits to Canada, Pakistan, USA, France, etc.” and that “in the said conferences, he used to exchange literature on ideology, training, and working strategy of CPI (Maoist) with international communist organisations”.On the High Court’s observation that no prima facie case is made out against Teltumbde, the agency said this “is contrary to the observations made by this (Supreme) Court in his case while rejecting his plea for anticipatory bail. It pointed out that the SC in its order dated March 16, 2020, had said that “we are of the opinion that it cannot be said that no prima facie case is made out”.
The Bombay High Court on Thursday refused to grant interim relief in a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by four senior citizens, including retired IPS officer Julio Ribeiro, which challenged the October 11, 2021 bandh in Maharashtra called by the then three ruling parties which were part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.The PIL had said the bandh – called by NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena to express their solidarity with the farmers’ protest over the now repealed agricultural laws and against the October 3 violence in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district — caused a loss of nearly Rs 3,000 crore to the public exchequer. It sought that the bandh be declared ‘illegal and unconstitutional’.The division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Abhay Ahuja noted that there were “no exceptional circumstances” to pass an interim order granting relief to the petitioner at this stage and said the same would amount to granting final relief related to compensation. The court referred to police records and noted that it was evident that the bandh call had been given by the MVA and constituents of the alliance — Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress — have stayed away from the proceedings till date in court despite them being made respondents in the case.The bench then directed the respondents to file their affidavits in reply to the plea by January 9, followed by the rejoinder of the petitioners by January 18.The bench directed the state government and its police department to inform it as to what steps were taken in compliance of directions issued by the High Court in the BG Deshmukh case to avoid the bandh of 2021.In 2004, the HC had penalised the Shiv Sena and BJP for forcing a shutdown in Mumbai in July 2003 following the Ghatkopar blasts. The HC had made it mandatory for police to serve a notice on political parties calling for the bandh, inform them about its illegalityand to take criminal action against those enforcing the strike, among other steps. It noted that since the 2004 verdict was not challenged by the state government, the same had attained finality and should be implemented.Earlier this year, the Maharashtra Home department and Mumbai Police, in their affidavits, had told the HC that no decision was taken by the state Cabinet to support a state-wide bandh of November 2021,and the state government cannot be held liable for losses claimed by petitioners.Additional Government Pleader Jyoti Chavan, representing the state government, said that it had taken steps to ensure that the law and order situation was maintained and provided additional bandobast through Police Riot Control Units, among other steps.However, senior advocate Ramesh Soni, appearing for the petitioners, claimed that there was no connection between violence in UP and bandh in Maharashtra, and the bandh was organised by political parties and compensationshould be ordered for losses suffered due to the same as a deterrent measure.The bench orally remarked, “Do the lawyers not strike? A judicial order will not solve this… As part of the judiciary, we cannot give moral lessons to the state government…There is a general trend in this country that people don’t do anything but after retirement … What did he do when he (petitioner) was in office? We won’t pass futile orders. Those orders will never be implemented, then again you will file a contempt plea,” the bench remarked. It added that it could not quantify the damages mentioned in the PIL and could only ascertain as to whether the rights were trampled upon.The bench refused to grant interim relief to the petitioners and posted the matter for further hearing to January 25, 2023.
MUMBAI: Bombay high court on Thursday sought an affidavit from the state on compliance of a 2004 order which required police to issue a notice on a political party calling for a bandh. The HC sought the state’s response after counsel R D Soni arguing a PIL filed by ex Mumbai CP Julio Rebeiro and other senior citizens cited the previous ruling while seeking Rs 3000 crore compensation from three political parties of the erstwhile MVA government for an alleged "state sponsored" bandh in Maharashtra last October to protest farmer deaths in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh. Soni said the UP violence had no connection to Maharashtra to even suggest the need for a bandh here. The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) alleged that three parties which formed the ruling alliance then had called for the bandh and must be made to shell out the amount through a bandh loss compensation fund. A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Abhay Ahuja admitting the PIL, did not grant any interim relief at this stage, but sought to know what steps had the police taken "to avoid the bandh". The 2004 judgment by the then HC bench headed by Justice A P Shah had declaring enforcement of a bandh to be an "unconstitutional act" directed police to service notice to the political party to inform them of bandh’s illegality and its liability for legal action ad to pay compensation for loss of life or livelihood due to such bandh. The State represented by additional government pleader Jyoti Chavan referred to the state’s affidavits which denied it had called for the bandh, saying contrary to petitioners’ claim no cabinet decision was taken for the bandh. Soni said media reports indicated that the bandh was state sponsored, to which Chavan questioned the petitioners for placing reliance only on the media reports. She said the state merely expressed solidarity with the farmers’ cause. PIL sought setting up a compensation fund. The HC observed despite numerous judgment, bandhs abound and asked how did the petitioners arrive at the figure they did. It said any mechanism to quantify damages has to be through a law. Courts have to ensure that people’s rights are not trampled on. Lawyers also go on strike, said Chavan citing one example of a strike in Kolhapur. The bench said a "judicial order won't solve this (recurrence of bandhs)". it also said, “As a part of the judiciary, we cannot give moral lessons to the State Government." The police department in its reply said the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) had called for it and it found support from others. It also said the police had immediately taken steps to maintain law and order in Mumbai via additional bandobast through riot control units and more personnel patrolling the streets.
The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the application of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to recall its order allowing the house arrest of activist Gautam Navlakha in the Bhima Koregaon violence case.The apex court asked for Navlakha to be put under house arrest within 24-hours after shifting him from Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who sought the recall of the order of Navlakha’s house arrest told the court, “The message that goes out is that though Article 14 says all are equal, some are more than equal.”SC dismisses NIA plea to vacate its order allowing house arrest for Gautam Navlakha. @IndianExpress— Ananthakrishnan G (@axidentaljourno) November 18, 2022Justice K M Joseph, who presided over the bench which delivered the house arrest order said that all conditions that Additional Solicitor General S V Raju wanted to be incorporated were included, and “in that sense, it was an agreed order.” In counter to that, ASG Raju said that it was not an agreed order.The apex court also ordered additional security measures to be put in place where Navlakha will be lodged under house arrest, PTI reported.Navlakha is yet to be shifted from Taloja jail near Mumbai despite the top court’s November 10 ruling to this effect.Navlakha, who is facing charges under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, had initially said he would stay with his sister, Mridula Kothari, in Mumbai. But the NIA said one of the doctors who had signed the medical report submitted by Navlakha in support of his plea was Mridula’s husband, Dr S Kothari, a senior doctor at Jaslok Hospital. Following this, Navlakha said he would stay with his partner, Sahba Husain. The court allowed this.The case relates to speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017. Police claim these speeches triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.The Supreme Court had allowed Navlakha’s request for house arrest owing to his health. It directed that he will remain in Mumbai at an address already furnished to the court. It also allowed the NIA to inspect the premises before shifting him there and imposed certain conditions, including CCTV surveillance, restrictions on phone use and no access to Internet.
The Supreme Court will Friday hear applications by activist Gautam Navlakha and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) over the top court’s order allowing his house arrest in the Bhima Koregaon violence case.Navlakha is yet to be shifted from Taloja jail near Mumbai despite the top court’s November 10 ruling to this effect.His counsel said the NIA was yet to inspect the premises where he had proposed to stay even though the court had directed the agency to carry out the inspection within 48 hours.The NIA’s argument was that the premises are the library-cum-office of the Communist Party of India.Seeking urgent listing of the plea, Navlakha’s counsel, Senior Advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, told a bench presided by Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud: “NIA has raised objections. The order of house arrest came on November 10 and they were to inspect the premises within 48 hours, which they have not. Because of their objections, the order cannot be implemented.”Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said Navlakha, who “is accused of being involved in Maoist activities”, had given an address of the library-cum-office of Communist Party of India instead of a house as the place where he intended to stay.As the house arrest order was given by a Bench presided by Justice K M Joseph, the CJI directed that both pleas be listed before the same bench.The case relates to speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017. Police claim these speeches triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.The Supreme Court had allowed Navlakha’s request for house arrest owing to his health. It directed that he will remain in Mumbai at an address already furnished to the court. It also allowed the NIA to inspect the premises before shifting him there and imposed certain conditions, including CCTV surveillance, restrictions on phone use and no access to Internet.The court had asked his counsel then to furnish the address where he would stay. Accordingly, the court informed that he would stay on the first floor of a building which had a library on the ground floor.Navlakha, who is facing charges under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, had initially said he would stay with his sister, Mridula Kothari, in Mumbai.But the NIA said one of the doctors who had signed the medical report submitted by Navlakha in support of his plea was Mridula’s husband, Dr S Kothari, a senior doctor at Jaslok Hospital.Following this, Navlakha said he would stay with his partner, Sahba Husain. The court allowed this.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday cleared the hurdle for the release of activist Gautam Navlakha from Navi Mumbai’s Taloja prison, where he is lodged in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case, by waiving the requirement of a solvency certificate for availing the benefit of house arrest.The top court had on November 10 allowed Navlakha to be placed under house arrest owing to his deteriorating health.It had said that to avail the facility of house arrest, Navlakha will provide local surety of Rs 2 lakh by November 14.A bench of Justices K M Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy was on Tuesday informed by senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan and advocate Shadan Farasat, appearing for Navlakha, it will take a minimum of six weeks to secure solvency certificate in respect of surety to be provided as a precondition for house arrest of the activist.“Considering the submission and the circumstances, we deem it appropriate to waive the requirement of a solvency certificate for the petitioner (Navlakha) to avail the benefit of our order dated November 10, 2022. It is ordered accordingly,” the bench said.It said since other adequate security proofs such as passport, Aadhaar card and Permanent Account Number (PAN) card have been provided, the trial court should not insist on a ration card as an additional proof of identity for the benefit of the apex court’s order to take effect.“It is so ordered,” the bench said.Noting the activist has been in custody since April 14, 2020 and prima facie there is no reason to reject his medical report, the apex court had on November 10 said Navlakha does not have any criminal background except for this case and even the Government of India had appointed him as an interlocutor to hold talks with Maoists.Putting a number of conditions, including a deposit of Rs 2.4 lakh as expenses towards providing him security, the top court had said the order to place the 70-year-old activist under house arrest for a month in Mumbai should be implemented within 48 hours.“It is not in dispute that apart from this case, the petitioner does not have any criminal background at all. The petitioner has also the case that in the year 2011, the services of the petitioner was used by the Government of India as an interlocutor to mediate with the extremists for securing the release of security personnel kidnapped by Maoists,” it had said. “We would think on a conspectus of the facts that we should allow the petitioner to be placed under house arrest at least to begin with till the next date of hearing from the date on which he is actually placed on house arrest,” the top court had said.The apex court had posted the matter for hearing on December 13.The activist appealed to the apex court against the April 26 order of the Bombay High Court dismissing his plea for house arrest over apprehensions of lack of adequate medical and other basic facilities in Taloja jail near Mumbai.The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017 which the police claim triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.
PUNE: A team of 21 theatre actors is touring various villages in the Osmanabad and Latur districts of Maharashtra to perform street plays focusing on domestic violence, child marriage and other issues related to patriarchy, which harm the mental and physical health of women. The tour is part of a campaign called ‘Hinsa Mukta Jeevan - Anandi Jeevan’ (Violence-free life - Happy life) by Andur-based Halo Medical Foundation (HMF), which, in collaboration with the city-based Swatantra Theatre Group, has identified areas in the state witnessing a high rate of domestic violence. Basavraj Nare, project coordinator, HMF, said, “Over the last three years, we have formed groups of 20-25 youth volunteers in different villages of Maharashtra. They spread awareness about gender inequality, child marriage and domestic violence by talking to school students, senior citizens, and panchayats. They host rallies and other interactive events to involve everyone in bringing positive change in society. This year, actors from Pune are touring 30 villages via a 15-day-long campaign that started on November 11. These villages were selected because domestic violence had increased there in post-pandemic times. Changing the mindsets of people through such efforts is a slow and steady progress. We are seeing small results. For example, men in some villages now take up more household responsibilities, and there is an increased focus on the education of girls.” After the powerful 42-minute-long play, an interaction is held with the audience to convey the message. Volunteers and counsellors will also be present at the performance venues for any help and support to the audience if they are triggered by the play. Sharing an incident that throws light on the gravity of the situation, actors recalled how out of 100-150 men in the audience at Manmodi village in Sangli district, only one said that he had never raised his hands at his wife in the 15 years of their marriage. Ketaki Nimbalkar, one of the actors in the touring troupe, said, “I play the role of the wife of an abusive alcoholic husband, who beats her for putting less salt in the food or not covering her head when there is another man in the house. Many women have approached me after the performance to tell me how they have been in the same situation. They found hope in knowing there was a solution and people eager to help. In many rural parts regions, women are still afraid to raise their voices against violence as they feel it may bring shame to their families and affect their reputation.” Nimbalkar said one day after their performance at a school, a girl from Standard VIII approached her to share how her aunt’s husband used to beat her. The young girl wanted to help, but did not know how. “She also pointed out that whenever her aunt or other women family members voiced against the issue, the violence increased due to the abuser’s ego. We connected her with a local NGO that helps de-escalate such situations in families through counselling and provides support for victims of domestic violence,” she said.
PALGHAR: A clash took place between activists of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra's Palghar district, police said on Friday. The incident occurred in Dahanu taluka of the district on Thursday evening, ahead of the elections to the post of chief and deputy chief of gram panchayats in the district, an official said. Complaints were lodged by both the sides following the clash and FIRs have been registered against persons involved in the incident, he said. A few members of both the groups sustained minor injuries in the incident, the official said, adding that no arrest has been made so far, the official added.
Jailed human rights activist Gautam Navlakha, who was last week allowed to be placed under house arrest for a month by the Supreme Court owing to his medical condition, is yet to walk out of Navi Mumbai’s Taloja prison, where he is lodged in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, as formalities for his release are still under process.The 70-year-old activist, who claims to suffer from multiple ailments, is in custody since April 2020 in the 2017-18 case. On November 10, the Supreme Court allowed Navlakha to be put under house arrest for a month with certain conditions and had said its order should be implemented within 48 hours.However, till Monday evening he was still in prison as formalities for his release could not be completed.According to his lawyer, formalities for Navlakha’s release from jail were initiated on Monday before a special NIA (National Investigation Agency) court in Mumbai that is hearing the case against him.Once released from prison, Navlakha will be staying at Belapur in Navi Mumbai under surveillance. The septuagenarian shall not be allowed to leave Mumbai, as per the SC order.His lawyer on Monday apprised special NIA Judge Rajesh Katariya, presiding over the case, of the Supreme Court order on house arrest and initiated the process for filing surety as per the condition set by the apex court to complete his release formalities.The SC had imposed a slew of conditions by which Navlakha would have to stay in Mumbai, deposit Rs 2.4 lakh as expenses for security, CCTV cameras would have to be installed outside the rooms and at entry and exit points of the house where he will be staying.Navlakha will not be allowed to leave the house except for walks in the company of police personnel, but permitted to meet his lawyers as per Jail Manual rules and inform cops in case of a medical emergency, the apex court said last week.It also said the activist will not be allowed to use a computer or the internet during the period of his house arrest. He will, however, be permitted to use a mobile phone without the internet provided by police personnel on duty once a day for ten minutes in their presence.Access to television and newspapers will be allowed, but these cannot be interest-based, the SC maintained in its order.It also allowed the Maharashtra police to search and inspect the residence and said the accommodation would be under surveillance.The Supreme Court has listed the matter for hearing in the second week of December by when the prosecuting agency NIA has been asked to obtain a fresh medical report on the accused.Navlakha had sought to be shifted from the Taloja prison and placed under house arrest owing to ill health.The activist moved the SC against the April 26 order of the Bombay High Court dismissing his plea for house arrest over apprehensions of lack of adequate medical and other basic facilities in the Taloja jail.The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the ‘Elgar Parishad’ conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which the police claimed triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon -Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.According to the Pune police, people linked to banned Naxalite groups had organized the programme.The case, in which over a dozen activists and academicians have been named as accused, was later handed over to the NIA.
The Supreme Court on Thursday permitted Bhima Koregaon case-accused Gautam Navlakha to be placed under house arrest for a period of one month, taking into consideration his health and age. Navlakha had requested house arrest instead of judicial custody in Taloja jail, Maharashtra.The Gwalior-born civil rights activist is an active member of the People’s Union of Democratic Rights (PUDR). Trained in economics and political science in Mumbai, 65-year-old Navlakha worked with the digital newsportal Newsclick before his arrest. He was with academic journal Economic and Political Weekly for over 30 years. He is also the author of the book Days and Nights in the Heartland of Rebellion.According to his associates, this was the first time a criminal proceeding had been initiated against him.His extensive work on Kashmir has often riled governments. His recent works focussed on Chhattisgarh.In a paper for the EPW on the report of the Concerned Citizens Group to Jammu & Kashmir in 2018, he wrote: “In the nearly three-decade-long military suppression in J&K, there have been several attempts by public-spirited persons to visit and share their findings in the form of reports. Starting with the Committee for Initiative on Kashmir and the People’s Union for Civil Liberties-Citizens for Democracy in 1990 to the present time, a number of such efforts have tried to create an informed opinion regarding the “Kashmir Question,” the public mood in Kashmir, as well as conditions on the ground resulting from armed conflict. In contrast to the initial reports, which took a stance on the Kashmir question upfront, either supporting right of self-determination or advocating autonomy, the situation now is one where most efforts are cagey in talking about solutions.”The Elgaar Parishad case is one of the two ongoing investigations related to the Koregaon Bhima violence witnessed on January 1, 2018. This one is based on an FIR filed in Pune alleging that banned Naxalite groups had organized the Elgaar Parishad, an evening programme organised in the city on December 31, 2017, on the eve of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon. Police claims that speeches made at Elgaar Parishad were at least partly responsible for instigating violence the next day.The Elgaar Parishad case became prominent because of the arrests of some high profile activists and lawyers, including Navlakha. Some of those arrested have been in jail for over a year now.
