News Analysis India

Tag: Stan Swamy

  • Elgar Parishad case: Activists Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira released from prison

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, walked out of prison in Navi Mumbai on Saturday afternoon with a special court here issuing their release order a week after they were granted bail by the Supreme Court.

    The two activists were lodged in Taloja jail.

    Some supporters and kin of the two activists waited outside the prison to receive them, a police official said.

    With their release, five out of the 16 accused arrested in the case are now out on bail.

    One of the 16 accused, Jesuit priest Stan Swamy – died at a private hospital here in July 2021 during judicial custody.

    Earlier in the day, a lawyer linked to the case said a special court hearing cases related to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) issued their release order on Friday.

    The apex court on July 28 granted bail to the two accused, noting that the actual involvement of Gonsalves and Ferreira in any terrorist act has not surfaced from any third-party communications.

    The SC bench comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia granted bail to them, noting that mere holding of certain literature through which violent acts may be propagated would not attract the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

    “Considering the fact that almost five years have elapsed, we are satisfied they have made out a case for bail. The allegations are serious, no doubt, but for that reason alone, bail cannot be denied to them,” the bench said.

    The apex court also asked them not to leave Maharashtra without the trial court’s permission and surrender their passports.

    It also directed the two activists to use one mobile each and let the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the case, know their addresses.

    It also granted liberty to the NIA to seek cancellation of their bail if there is any violation of the bail conditions.

    The activists had moved the top court against a Bombay High Court order rejecting their bail pleas.

    ALSO READ: What the Battle of Bhima Koregaon means to the Dalits

    The special NIA court imposed additional conditions for their bail, directing the accused to furnish a personal recognizance (PR) bond of Rs 50,000 each and asking them not to speak to the media about the case.

    It also directed them to attend the proceedings before the court unless exempted from personal appearance.

    Gonsalves and Ferreira were arrested in August 2018 for their alleged role in the case and were in judicial custody since then. Three other accused in the case are already out on bail.

    While scholar-activist Anand Teltumbde and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj are out on regular bail, poet Varavara Rao is out on bail on health grounds.

    Another accused, activist Gautam Navlakha, is currently under house arrest as per the Supreme Court’s directions.

    The prosecution’s case is that Gonsalves and Ferreira played an active role in the recruitment of and training cadres of banned CPI (Maoist), and Ferreira also had a role in managing the finances of that organisation.

    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.

    The inflammatory speeches made there led to violence at the Koregaon Bhima war memorial in Pune the next day, police had alleged.

    The case was later taken over by the NIA.

    READ MORE: Life and liberty in the Bhima Koregaon case

    MUMBAI: Activists Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira, accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, walked out of prison in Navi Mumbai on Saturday afternoon with a special court here issuing their release order a week after they were granted bail by the Supreme Court.

    The two activists were lodged in Taloja jail.

    Some supporters and kin of the two activists waited outside the prison to receive them, a police official said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    With their release, five out of the 16 accused arrested in the case are now out on bail.

    One of the 16 accused, Jesuit priest Stan Swamy – died at a private hospital here in July 2021 during judicial custody.

    Earlier in the day, a lawyer linked to the case said a special court hearing cases related to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) issued their release order on Friday.

    The apex court on July 28 granted bail to the two accused, noting that the actual involvement of Gonsalves and Ferreira in any terrorist act has not surfaced from any third-party communications.

    The SC bench comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Sudhanshu Dhulia granted bail to them, noting that mere holding of certain literature through which violent acts may be propagated would not attract the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

    “Considering the fact that almost five years have elapsed, we are satisfied they have made out a case for bail. The allegations are serious, no doubt, but for that reason alone, bail cannot be denied to them,” the bench said.

    The apex court also asked them not to leave Maharashtra without the trial court’s permission and surrender their passports.

    It also directed the two activists to use one mobile each and let the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the case, know their addresses.

    It also granted liberty to the NIA to seek cancellation of their bail if there is any violation of the bail conditions.

    The activists had moved the top court against a Bombay High Court order rejecting their bail pleas.

    ALSO READ: What the Battle of Bhima Koregaon means to the Dalits

    The special NIA court imposed additional conditions for their bail, directing the accused to furnish a personal recognizance (PR) bond of Rs 50,000 each and asking them not to speak to the media about the case.

    It also directed them to attend the proceedings before the court unless exempted from personal appearance.

    Gonsalves and Ferreira were arrested in August 2018 for their alleged role in the case and were in judicial custody since then. Three other accused in the case are already out on bail.

    While scholar-activist Anand Teltumbde and lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj are out on regular bail, poet Varavara Rao is out on bail on health grounds.

    Another accused, activist Gautam Navlakha, is currently under house arrest as per the Supreme Court’s directions.

    The prosecution’s case is that Gonsalves and Ferreira played an active role in the recruitment of and training cadres of banned CPI (Maoist), and Ferreira also had a role in managing the finances of that organisation.

    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.

    The inflammatory speeches made there led to violence at the Koregaon Bhima war memorial in Pune the next day, police had alleged.

    The case was later taken over by the NIA.

    READ MORE: Life and liberty in the Bhima Koregaon case

  • Hacker planted evidence on Stan Swamy’s computer: Report

    By Online Desk

    The United States-based digital forensics firm, Arsenal Consulting has revealed that a hacker planted evidence on a device owned by tribal rights activist Stan Swamy who died while under judicial custody, several months after his arrest in the Bhima-Koregaon case. Last year, the firm revealed that two others arrested in connection with the case, Surendra Gadling and Rona Wilson were also victims who had evidence planted in their device by a hacker. The revelation relating to Surendra Gadling came a day after the death of Stan Swamy on July 5, 2021, while the report on Rona Wilson came several months prior to that.

    ALSO READ | Bhima Koregaon case: Pune cop planted evidence in devices of jailed activists, says report

    The 84-year-old Jesuit priest Stan Swamy was suffering from Parkinson’s disease. His requests for bail on medical grounds was rejected multiple times. Eventually, his health condition deteriorated and he died in a hospital, while in judicial custody, on July 5, 2021.

    According to The Washington Post, Massachusetts-based firm Arsenal Consulting has released the latest analysis on Stan Swamy.

    NEW: Forensic analysis by @ArsenalArmed concludes that Stan Swamy, the 84-year-old priest who died after a jail stint was hacked and evidence planted on device. He is the third defendant in #BhimaKoregaon case to have been hacked. https://t.co/B2htQ20SZ1
    — Niha Masih (@NihaMasih) December 13, 2022
    Arsenal Consulting said that Swamy had been targeted by an extensive malware campaign for nearly five years till his device was seized by the police in June 2019. In that duration, the hacker had complete control over the activist’s computer, and placed dozens of files in a hidden folder without his knowledge, according to The Washington Post.

    ALSO READ | Bhima Koregaon case: Supreme Court extends house arrest of Gautam Navlakha

    It may be recalled that a day after the activist Father Stan Swamy’s death on July 5, 2021, Arsenal Consulting claimed that evidence was planted on the computer of Surendra Gadling. The firm claimed that the malware that targeted Gadling’s computer via emails also had several other Bhima-Koregaon accused, including Swamy and Sudha Bhardwaj copied on the mails.

    Stan Swamy and others were arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case under UAPA for alleged links with banned Maoists.

    The United States-based digital forensics firm, Arsenal Consulting has revealed that a hacker planted evidence on a device owned by tribal rights activist Stan Swamy who died while under judicial custody, several months after his arrest in the Bhima-Koregaon case. Last year, the firm revealed that two others arrested in connection with the case, Surendra Gadling and Rona Wilson were also victims who had evidence planted in their device by a hacker. The revelation relating to Surendra Gadling came a day after the death of Stan Swamy on July 5, 2021, while the report on Rona Wilson came several months prior to that.

    ALSO READ | Bhima Koregaon case: Pune cop planted evidence in devices of jailed activists, says report

    The 84-year-old Jesuit priest Stan Swamy was suffering from Parkinson’s disease. His requests for bail on medical grounds was rejected multiple times. Eventually, his health condition deteriorated and he died in a hospital, while in judicial custody, on July 5, 2021.

    According to The Washington Post, Massachusetts-based firm Arsenal Consulting has released the latest analysis on Stan Swamy.

    NEW: Forensic analysis by @ArsenalArmed concludes that Stan Swamy, the 84-year-old priest who died after a jail stint was hacked and evidence planted on device. He is the third defendant in #BhimaKoregaon case to have been hacked. https://t.co/B2htQ20SZ1
    — Niha Masih (@NihaMasih) December 13, 2022
    Arsenal Consulting said that Swamy had been targeted by an extensive malware campaign for nearly five years till his device was seized by the police in June 2019. In that duration, the hacker had complete control over the activist’s computer, and placed dozens of files in a hidden folder without his knowledge, according to The Washington Post.

    ALSO READ | Bhima Koregaon case: Supreme Court extends house arrest of Gautam Navlakha

    It may be recalled that a day after the activist Father Stan Swamy’s death on July 5, 2021, Arsenal Consulting claimed that evidence was planted on the computer of Surendra Gadling. The firm claimed that the malware that targeted Gadling’s computer via emails also had several other Bhima-Koregaon accused, including Swamy and Sudha Bhardwaj copied on the mails.

    Stan Swamy and others were arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case under UAPA for alleged links with banned Maoists.

  • Treatment, straw, books… things Bhima Koregaon accused have asked courts for

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Supreme Court order permitting jailed activist Gautam Navlakha to be kept under house arrest for a month has brought to the fore several applications filed by the accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case lamenting lack of facilities in jail and denial of access to the same.

    Besides seeking medical treatment, the accused in the case have time and again approached courts for permission to get books, chairs, drinking straws, spectacles and mosquito nets inside the prison have asked courts for.

    In November 2020, accused Stan Swamy had filed an application before a special court here seeking straw and sipper at the Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai where he is lodged.

    In his plea, Swamy had said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) seized it from him and he was unable to lift a glass due to Parkinson’s disease.

    The NIA, in its reply, however, said it had not seized any straw and sipper glass from Swamy.

    Later, jail authorities provided him with a straw and sipper.

    Swamy died in July 2021 at a private hospital here while he was in judicial custody.

    In December 2020, Navlakha’s partner Sahba Husain said the former’s spectacles were stolen in jail and when his family sent him a new pair, the jail authorities refused to accept them.

    The high court had later criticised the jail authorities and said all these are human considerations.

    The jail authorities later accepted the pair of spectacles sent by Navlakha’s family.

    READ HERE | Relief for Bhima Koregaon accused Gautam Navlakha as SC paves way for house arrest

    In 2020, lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj had filed an application before the special court claiming she was not being allowed access to books.

    She said when books were sent for her, the Superintendent at Mumbai’s Byculla Jail, where she was lodged, had refused to receive them for her.

    The special court had allowed her plea to have access to five books per month from outside prison, while directing the jail superintendent to “carefully examine” the books to ensure they did not contain any “objectionable material”.

    The court had also said beyond the prescribed parameters to deem a book’s content “objectionable”, including whether it is vulgar, obscene or preaches violence, a superintendent did not have powers to withhold a book from a detainee.

    In April this year, Navlakha’s lawyer Yug Chaudhary had informed the Bombay High Court that prison authorities had refused to hand over a book by English author P G Wodehouse.

    During the arguments in the high court on Navlakha’s plea seeking to be kept under house arrest, Chaudhary had said the condition of the prison was very poor.

    The HC had then said the prison authorities’ action refusing Wodehouse’s book was comical.

    Navlakha and co-accused Sagar Gorkhe had filed applications in the special court seeking permission to have mosquito nets inside the prison.

    This was opposed by Taloja jail authorities citing security concerns.

    ALSO READ | Bhima Koregaon case: Pune cop planted evidence in devices of jailed activists, says report

    The court did not allow the pleas of Navlakha and Gorkhe, but directed the jail superintendent to take “all necessary precautions against mosquitoes, conduct fumigation, allow inmates to use repellents, ointments and incense sticks”.

    Navlakha had also filed another application in the special court seeking permission to make phone/video calls to his kin.

    The prison authorities had contended that the facility started during the COVID-19 pandemic, but could not be permitted to undertrials on a regular basis.

    The court rejected Navlakha’s plea, following which he filed an appeal in the high court.

    Surendra Gadling, another accused in the case, had filed an application seeking a chair and table citing medical ailments, claiming he was unable to squat on the floor for long without developing pain in his back and neck.

    ALSO READ | SC grants bail to Bhima Koregaon case accused Varavara Rao on medical grounds

    Gadling had said he needed the table and chair as he had to study a lot since he was representing himself in the case.

    Prison authorities had opposed this plea as well citing security risks.

    The court agreed with Gadling’s contention, observing that the allegations he has to defend himself against are serious and there are a large number of documents he needs to study for hours together.

    Gadling was allowed a chair and table at his cost.

    Gadling had also sought permission to have his own shaving kit, which was opposed by the prison authorities.

    The court agreed with the prison authorities that it would pose danger and rejected the application.

    MUMBAI: The Supreme Court order permitting jailed activist Gautam Navlakha to be kept under house arrest for a month has brought to the fore several applications filed by the accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case lamenting lack of facilities in jail and denial of access to the same.

    Besides seeking medical treatment, the accused in the case have time and again approached courts for permission to get books, chairs, drinking straws, spectacles and mosquito nets inside the prison have asked courts for.

    In November 2020, accused Stan Swamy had filed an application before a special court here seeking straw and sipper at the Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai where he is lodged.

    In his plea, Swamy had said the National Investigation Agency (NIA) seized it from him and he was unable to lift a glass due to Parkinson’s disease.

    The NIA, in its reply, however, said it had not seized any straw and sipper glass from Swamy.

    Later, jail authorities provided him with a straw and sipper.

    Swamy died in July 2021 at a private hospital here while he was in judicial custody.

    In December 2020, Navlakha’s partner Sahba Husain said the former’s spectacles were stolen in jail and when his family sent him a new pair, the jail authorities refused to accept them.

    The high court had later criticised the jail authorities and said all these are human considerations.

    The jail authorities later accepted the pair of spectacles sent by Navlakha’s family.

    READ HERE | Relief for Bhima Koregaon accused Gautam Navlakha as SC paves way for house arrest

    In 2020, lawyer-activist Sudha Bharadwaj had filed an application before the special court claiming she was not being allowed access to books.

    She said when books were sent for her, the Superintendent at Mumbai’s Byculla Jail, where she was lodged, had refused to receive them for her.

    The special court had allowed her plea to have access to five books per month from outside prison, while directing the jail superintendent to “carefully examine” the books to ensure they did not contain any “objectionable material”.

    The court had also said beyond the prescribed parameters to deem a book’s content “objectionable”, including whether it is vulgar, obscene or preaches violence, a superintendent did not have powers to withhold a book from a detainee.

    In April this year, Navlakha’s lawyer Yug Chaudhary had informed the Bombay High Court that prison authorities had refused to hand over a book by English author P G Wodehouse.

    During the arguments in the high court on Navlakha’s plea seeking to be kept under house arrest, Chaudhary had said the condition of the prison was very poor.

    The HC had then said the prison authorities’ action refusing Wodehouse’s book was comical.

    Navlakha and co-accused Sagar Gorkhe had filed applications in the special court seeking permission to have mosquito nets inside the prison.

    This was opposed by Taloja jail authorities citing security concerns.

    ALSO READ | Bhima Koregaon case: Pune cop planted evidence in devices of jailed activists, says report

    The court did not allow the pleas of Navlakha and Gorkhe, but directed the jail superintendent to take “all necessary precautions against mosquitoes, conduct fumigation, allow inmates to use repellents, ointments and incense sticks”.

    Navlakha had also filed another application in the special court seeking permission to make phone/video calls to his kin.

    The prison authorities had contended that the facility started during the COVID-19 pandemic, but could not be permitted to undertrials on a regular basis.

    The court rejected Navlakha’s plea, following which he filed an appeal in the high court.

    Surendra Gadling, another accused in the case, had filed an application seeking a chair and table citing medical ailments, claiming he was unable to squat on the floor for long without developing pain in his back and neck.

    ALSO READ | SC grants bail to Bhima Koregaon case accused Varavara Rao on medical grounds

    Gadling had said he needed the table and chair as he had to study a lot since he was representing himself in the case.

    Prison authorities had opposed this plea as well citing security risks.

    The court agreed with Gadling’s contention, observing that the allegations he has to defend himself against are serious and there are a large number of documents he needs to study for hours together.

    Gadling was allowed a chair and table at his cost.

    Gadling had also sought permission to have his own shaving kit, which was opposed by the prison authorities.

    The court agreed with the prison authorities that it would pose danger and rejected the application.

  • Geneva-based rights organisation confers posthumous award to Father Stan Swamy

    Express News Service

    BENGALURU: The Martin Ennals Foundation, Geneva has conferred the Human Rights Defenders award 2022 to Late Father Stanislas Swamy posthumously. “Father Stan was nominated to the Award in spring 2021, but he sadly passed away before it could reach him,” stated Chair of the Award Jury, Hans Thoolen.

    The 2022 Martin Ennals Award Ceremony will be held on June 2.

    Martin Ennals was a British human rights activist who served as Secretary-General of Amnesty International from 1968 to 1980. He had co-founded the human rights organizations ARTICLE 19, International Alert and HURIDOCS.

    Fr Stan Swamy (1937-2021), the 84-year-old Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist who was arrested in the Bhima Koregaon case in October 2020, died on July 5 last year. His association with the Indian Social Institute (ISI), Bengaluru goes back to 1975.

    “He was director, ISI for 15 years; from 1975 to 1986. Thereafter, he continued till 1991 as staff,” said Director, ISI, Fr Joseph Xavier. He said that the Martin Ennals Foundation has been in touch with him for the last few months to get more details and photographs of Stan Swamy. “Normally, the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders honours individuals and organizations that have shown exceptional commitment to defending and promoting human rights, despite the risks involved is given during their lifetime but in case of Stan, it is posthumous,” said Fr Xavier.

  • Clear Stan Swamy’s name in Elgar Parishad case: Late activist’s lawyer writes to HC

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Late tribal rights activist Stan Swamy’s lawyer has written to the Bombay High Court urging it to “clear his name and reputation” in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.

    Swamy, a Jesuit priest-turned-activist, died in hospital on July 5, 2021.

    Senior counsel Mihir Desai earlier this week wrote a note to the high court on behalf of the Jamshedpur Jesuit Province (JJP) which is seeking to pursue Swamy’s case as his next-of-kin.

    It has taken objection to the lower court’s observation while rejecting Swamy’s bail plea in March that there was prima facie evidence against him.

    The special court’s observations while refusing bail amounted to a preliminary finding of guilt against Swamy and the high court, which was hearing an appeal against the order, can continue the hearing and set aside the observation, as per the JJP.

    “Article 21 of the Constitution equally applies to deceased persons and just as the Appellant (Swamy) would have had a right to clear his name if he were alive, similarly those closest to him will have a similar right to clear his name,” the note stated.

    The lower court’s finding was a “stigma” and it will continue unless the high court sets the finding aside, it added.

    On July 5, when a bench of Justices S S Shinde and N J Jamadar of the high court took up Swamy’s bail plea, it was informed that he had been declared dead a little while earlier.

    Advocate Desai had then urged the HC to keep the bail appeal and a writ petition filed by Swamy opposing the bar on grant of bail under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) pending.

    The National Investigation Agency (NIA), however, had said the bail plea should be considered as `abated’ with Swamy’s death as per section 394 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

    Section 394 states that an appeal will abate on a person’s death unless it is an appeal against conviction, a sentence of death, or imprisonment in which case the person’s relatives may seek the court’s permission to continue the hearing on the appeal.

    Advocate Desai urged the HC to invoke its `parens patriae’ jurisdiction, which is a power of an appellate court to protect those who are not in the position to protect themselves.

    He also reiterated that Father Frazer Mascarenhas, Swamy’s associate and former principal of St Xaviers College, be permitted to participate in the magisterial inquiry into Swamy’s death as his next-of-kin.

    The magisterial inquiry must follow the guidelines of the United Nations Human Rights Council and look into the immediate cause of death, the note said, alleging that his “arrest, and prison conditions including inadequate health facilities” played a role in his death.

    Swamy was shifted to the Taloja prison in Navi Mumbai after his arrest from Ranchi in October 2020.

    Suffering from Parkinson’s disease and several other ailments, he was shifted to a private hospital in May this year on the HC’s order.

  • Stan Swamy’s counsel urges HC to monitor inquiry into his death; says court has ‘parens-patriae’ jurisdiction

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The counsel of late jesuit priest Stan Swamy, an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case who died earlier this month, urged the Bombay High Court on Friday to monitor the magisterial inquiry into his death by invoking its “parens-patriae” jurisdiction.

    Senior counsel Mihir Desai, who represented Swamy in the high court, said that although the activist was dead and there existed no question of him being granted bail any more, the high court need not consider the late priest’s appeals seeking bail abated.

    He said that there existed previous Supreme Court judgements ruling that high courts could exercise “parens-patriae jurisdiction” or act as the parent of such appellants, who were not in a position to take decisions for themselves.

    Advocate Desai urged the high court to permit Swamy’s aide, father Frazer Mascarenhas, be permitted to participate in the inquiry supposed to be conducted into Swamy’s death as per section 176 of the CrPC.

    He urged the court to direct that the inquiry be conducted as per the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) guidelines, and also to direct the magistrate to submit a copy of the inquiry report before the high court so that the same can be monitored.

    “We are looking at a peculiar situation here since the appellant died while the appeals were pending. But, the HC has wide powers,” Desai said.

    He cited the Bhopal gas tragedy case, and the case of comatose nurse Aruna Shanbaug, where courts had exercised their parens-patriae jurisdiction.

    Appearing for the National Investigating Agency (NIA), Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh said that while the agency had no objection to father Mascarenhas participating in the inquiry, the court need not pass any directions on the magistrate following the NHRC guidelines since that was part of procedure and would be followed.

    Singh said that the NIA, however, had an objection to the HC asking for the probe report.

    “The HC is presiding over two appeals challenging the accused’s rejection of bail on medical grounds and merits,” he said.

    “With the accused’s death, the appeals stand abated as per section 394 of the CrPC,” he said.

    The high court then directed advocate Desai to give written submissions on whether the appeals stood abated, or if they could be amended so that the HC could continue exercising jurisdiction over the matter.

    The NIA then intervened to say that it had two additional submissions to make.

    ASG Singh referred to a comment made by Justice Shinde on July 19 while hearing the appeals.

    Justice Shinde had said at the time that while the legal issues and charges against Swamy were a different matter, that aside, it had “great respect” for the work that Swamy did for the society when he was alive.

    “We have all condoled the death of Mr. Swamy, but any personal comments or private comments coming from the judges or any law officer, especially in the open court, are normally being twisted by the press and social media,” Singh said.

    Justice Shinde responded saying that the court had never made any personal comments on the NIA, the state’s conduct in the case, or legal issues involved.

    Justice Shinde further said that if the NIA wanted, he was willing to take back his words on any comments he had made personally.

    “If you want, I take my words back. Our endeavour is to stay fair and balanced always. That should be the end of the matter,” Justice Shinde said.

    “Our problem is that we don’t have control on what happens outside (the court),” the HC said.

    Singh then said that he had no grievances with the court.

    It was just that “public perception” mattered to agencies.

    The Maharashtra government’s counsel Aruna Pai, meanwhile, told the high court that the magisterial inquiry into swamy’s death was yet to begin.

    The post-mortem, however, was conducted as per procedure, she told the HC.

    The high court will hear the matter next on August 4.

    Swamy died at the private Holy Family Hospital in the city on July 5.

    He was shifted from the Taloja prison to the private hospital following HC’s intervention, and was undergoing treatment there for multiple ailments.

  • Have ‘great respect’ for Stan Swamy’s work: Bombay HC while hearing his bail appeals posthumously

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: 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 observations were made by a bench of Justices S S Shinde and N J Jamadar that had also presided over Swamy’s medical bail plea on July 5, when the HC was informed about the 84-year-old priest’s death at the Holy Family Hospital here that day following a cardiac arrest.

    “We don’t have time normally, but I saw the funeral service (of Swamy). It was very gracious,” Justice Shinde said.

    “Such a wonderful person. The kind of service he has rendered to the society. We have great respect for his work. Legally, whatever is there against him is a different matter,” he said.

    The bench also referred to the criticism that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the judiciary had received following Swamy’s death. It expressed regret over how, in several cases, undertrials languished in prisons waiting for the trial to begin.

    The bench, however, also said it had ensured to remain fair while passing orders on Swamy’s medical bail plea, as well as on the pleas filed by his co-accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.

    “You came to us with his medical bail plea on May 28 and we acceded to every prayer, every time,” the court said to Swamy’s advocate, senior counsel Mihir Desai.

    “Outside, we are speechless. Only you (Desai) can clarify this. You have said it on record that you have no grievance with this court in the matter,” the HC said.

    The HC further said nobody mentions that this is the court which granted bail to (co-accused) Varavara Rao, despite vehement opposition.

    “We allowed (Rao’s) family to meet as we thought human angle has to be seen. In another case (Hany Babu), we sent to hospital of his choice (Breach Candy Hospital-a private medical faciluty),” the HC said.

    “We never anticipated this will happen (Swamy’s death in custody). What was on our minds, we can’t say now as we couldn’t pronounce our order,” the HC said referring to the pending medical bail plea of the late Jesuit priest.

    Swamy was arrested by the NIA in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case from Ranchi in October 2020.

    The tribal rights activist, who was suffering from Parkinson’s disease and several other ailments, spent most of his time in custody in the Taloja prison’s hospital in neighbouring Navi Mumbai.

    He was admitted to the state-run J J Hospital in Mumbai on two occasions and was shifted to the Holy Family Hospital, a private medical facility, on May 28, following the intervention of the bench led by Justice Shinde.

    On July 5, the bench was informed by the hospital authorities that Swamy had suffered from a cardiac arrest two days prior and was put on ventilator support.

    He never regained consciousness and was declared dead by the hospital authorities about an hour before Swamy’s medical bail plea was taken up for hearing by the HC, it was informed at that time.

    On Monday, following the HC’s observations on it having passed fair orders, Desai said, “Let me say on record that I am extremely happy with various benches of the HC that heard this matter.

    ” Desai, however, urged the HC to let Swamy’s aide and another priest, father Frazer Mascarenhas, to participate in the magisterial inquiry that was initiated under Section 176 of the CrPC following the undertrial’s death.

    He also urged the high court to direct the magistrate conducting the inquiry to adhere to the UNHRC guidelines on such inquiries, and to ask for a report of the probe to be submitted in the HC.

    Desai was Swamy’s counsel in the appeals challenging a special court order denying him bail on both medical grounds and merits.

    Swamy had also filed a plea in the HC just weeks before his death, challenging section 45-D of the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), that barred grant of bail to any person accused under the Act.

    Advocate Sandesh Patil, who appeared for the NIA, on Monday said the central agency was objecting to Desai’s request since the HC was hearing appeals challenging a bail order and issues related to the inquiry could not be raised on the same pleas.

    “Time and again it is projected that the NIA is responsible for whatever has happened, and that jail authorities are responsible too,” Patil told the HC.

    The bench, however, told him there could be “no control on who says what outside on the matter”. “You take instructions on how many witnesses, how long will the trial take.

    We have to look at it practically,” the HC said to the NIA counsel. “The concern is that for how many years can people be asked to languish in jail without a trial. Not only in this case, but the question will arise on other cases also,” it said.

    The HC will continue hearing the pleas on July 23. The Elgar Parishad case is related to inflammatory speeches made at a conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which, the police claimed, triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.

    The police had claimed the conclave was organised by people with alleged Maoist links. The NIA later took over the probe into the case.

  • NIA, NHRC, Modi govt and judicial system executed plot against Stan Swamy: Maoists

    Express News Service
    RANCHI: The Maoists on Tuesday alleged that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) framed Stan Swamy in a fake case and demanded immediate release of all the activists lodged in jail in the Bhima Koregaon case. 

    The CPI (Maoists) also demanded the withdrawal of all the cases filed against them and appealed to the writers, artists, singers, lawyers, and democratic intelligentsia to support them.

    According to a press note released by the spokesperson of the CPI (Maoist) Central Committee, Stan Swamy was framed by NIA in the Bhima Koregoan case. “CPI (Maoist) announces that the death of Stan Swamy was a conspiracy. It has also been opined by the activists, intellectuals, democratic intelligentsia, human rights activists, and chief ministers of various states such as Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. Undoubtedly, the conspiracy has been executed by the NIA, NHRC, BJP Government at the centre and the judiciary as well,” stated the press note issued by CPI (Maoists). 

    Giving voice to the demand of immediate release of all the social and political activists and withdrawal of all cases related to the Bhima Koregaon case without any conditions would be a true tribute to Stan Swamy, it added.

    CPI (Maoist) also made an appeal to the writers, artists, singers, lawyers, and democratic intelligentsia to come forward for defeating the “anti-people” forces in the country, which is being used for denying the basic rights of the common people.

    Stan Swamy, 84, who worked for the rights of Adivasis and other underprivileged people in Jharkhand for more than three decades, passed away at a Mumbai Hospital on July 5. 

    Swamy had been languishing in jail since October 8, last year after NIA arrested him in the Bhima Koregaon case — the violence which erupted at an event to mark 100 years of the Bhima-Koregaon battle on January 1 in 2018, leaving one dead and several others injured. People close to Swamy, however, termed his death as an “institutional murder” saying that he was arrested on fake charges only to be killed in jail.

  • Maharashtra govt submits medical records of late priest Stan Swamy in HC

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government on Tuesday submitted to the Bombay High Court the medical records of Jesuit priest and activist Stan Swamy, an 84-yar-old accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoists links case who died in a hospital here while being in judicial custody last week awaiting a medical bail.

    Chief public prosecutor Aruna Pai told a bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar that the state had submitted “a compilation of Swamy’s complete medical records” since the time he was lodged in the Taloja prison as an undertrial.

    Swamy was arrested by the National Investigating Agency (NIA) from Ranchi in October 2020.

    He was interrogated at the time of his arrest by the NIA but the central agency never sought his custody.

    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.

    ALSO READ | Father Stan Swamy was the ‘voice of oppressed’ for decades, activist decry ‘institutional murder’

    He was then admitted to the Taloja prison hospital in Navi Mumbai.

    After informing the high court about Swamy’s death on July 5 this year, senior counsel Mihir Desai, who had represented the tribal rights activist in the HC, had told the court that Swamy’s death was a result of negligence on part of the NIA and the Maharashtra prison authorities who had failed to provide him timely and adequate medical aid.

    Desai had also urged the HC at the time to keep Swamy’s plea for medical bail and his plea challenging the bar on grant of bail under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act pending.

    He had also urged the HC to call for Swamy’s medical records.

    On Desai’s request, the high court had passed an order calling for the medical records to ascertain the veracity of the allegations made against authorities.

    On Tuesday, Pai submitted that the “Taloja prison authority had placed on record a 300-page long compilation of documents including medical reports from the time Stan Swamy was brought to Taloja Jail till his postmortem report”.

    Besides the state government, the private Holy Family Hospital in Mumbai, where Swamy died during treatment, also submitted the late activist’s medical records and the treatment provided to him.

    The high court took all the documents on record.

    ALSO READ | Activists blame Indian system for Stan Swamy’s demise

    The bench also said that since Swamy died in judicial custody, a magisterial inquiry into his death, as mandated by section 176 of the CrPC, will be conducted.

    “Whatever inquiry or investigation by the magistrate under 176 (CrPC) takes place, someone will have to participate in it now,” the high court told Desai.

    Desai said he had some submissions to make on such inquiry and he will do so on the next date of hearing.

    The HC will hear Desai and all other parties on July 19.

    The Elgar Parishad case is related to inflammatory speeches made at a conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which, the police claimed, triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial located on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city.

    The police had claimed the conclave was organised by people with alleged Maoist links.

  • Stan Swamy’s death in custody can’t be jusitified: Sanjay Raut

    By PTI
    MUMBAI: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday said the death of Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case accused Jesuit priest Stan Swamy in custody cannot be justified even if Maoists are “more dangerous than Kashmiri separatists”.

    In his weekly column Rokhthok in the party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, Raut wondered whether India’s foundation was so weak that an 84-year-old man could can wage a war against it, and said being critical of an incumbent government doesn’t mean being against the country.

    Swamy, 84, possibly the oldest person to be accused of terrorism in India, died in a Mumbai hospital recently in the middle of his fight for bail on health grounds.

    “A government that is scared of an 84-year-old physically challenged man is dictatorial in character, but weak in the mind,” said Raut, who is the executive editor of ‘Saamana’.

    The activities of the Elgar Parishad cannot be supported, but what happened later should be called a “conspiracy of cracking down on freedom”, Raut said, referring to the arrest of activists like Varavara Rao, Sudha Bharadwaj, Gaurav Navlakha and others in connection with the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case.

    Raut said all those arrested (in the case), including (scholar-activist) Anand Teltumbde, belong to a particular ideology who voice their rebellion through literature.

    “Can they overthrow the government with this?” he asked.

    Raut said Stan Swamy died in custody while Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with those who want autonomy for Kashmir and are demanding restoration of Article 370 there.

    “We may not agree with the ideology of Maoists and Naxals.

    Swamy’s death in custody cannot be justified even if Maoists and Naxals are more dangerous than Kashmiri separatists,” the Rajya Sabha member said.

    He expressed surprise over Prime Minister Modi’s name figuring in the list of global leaders who crack down on press freedom.

    “The situation has not gone out of hand in India even if it is true that the government’s critics are put in jail under sedition laws. The Indian press also raises its voice against such incidents,” he said.

    “Is the country’s foundation so weak that it can be threatened by an 84-year-old man?” Raut asked.