GN Saibaba's death puts spotlight back on plight of incarcerated activists
Dissent is not easy in India. After his acquittal this March, Saibaba publicly said he was repeatedly tortured and subjected to abuse while in prison
The demise of former Delhi University professor and human rights activist GN Saibaba in Hyderabad on Saturday (October 12) has once again put the spotlight on the alleged injustice and torture being faced by the activists who are in prison under various charges like having links with Maoists.
Though he died of a heart attack after being admitted to a hospital following a critical illness 10 days back, there is no denying the fact that the brutal incarceration took a heavy toll on his health. Following his acquittal and release from prison in March this year, Saibaba publicly stated that he was repeatedly tortured and subjected to abuse while in prison in connection with a 2014 Maoist links case.
“The inhuman treatment meted out to me during the imprisonment, which amounted to torture, put my life at risk. I was denied medical care on several occasions. It has left me a physical wreck. Today, I am alive before you but my organs are failing me,” said Saibaba, who was 90 per cent physically disabled due to a polio attack.
‘Denial of rights’
Incidentally, Saibaba wasn’t the first activist to meet this fate. Stan Swamy, a Ranchi-based tribal rights activist and Jesuit priest, who was arrested in the Elgar Parishad case, died in custody on July 5, 2021, following the alleged denial of rights inside the prison.
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On November 6, 2020, Swamy submitted an application to the special court requesting a straw and sipper, stating that he was unable to hold a glass due to Parkinson's. The alleged delay in arranging a straw and a sipper for Swamy prompted social media users to lodge a protest by ordering straws and sippers online, getting them delivered to the NIA's Mumbai office and at the Taloja jail. He finally got the same after almost a month.
His health deteriorated in May 2021 following which the Bombay High Court ordered the formation of an expert committee to examine Swamy. He was admitted to the Holy Family Hospital, Mumbai, and subsequently he tested positive for COVID-19. On July 4, 2021, Swamy was put on ventilator support, as his health deteriorated. He died on July 5, 2021, ahead of his bail hearing in the Bombay High Court.
In another such instance, the spectacles of Gautam Navlakha, another accused in Elgar Parishad case, were stolen inside the prison in 2020, and the jail authorities denied to accept the new spectacles sent by his family through courier.
Subsequently, the Bombay High Court stepped in and called for the need to conduct a workshop for jail officials to sensitise them on the needs of prisoners. “Humanity is most important. Everything else will follow. Today, we learnt about Navlakha’s spectacles. This is the high time to conduct a workshop for even jail authorities. Can all these small items be denied? These are all humane considerations,” said Justice SS Shinde while hearing the case.
Elgar Parishad case
A number of activists, including Stan Swamy, were arrested in the Elgar Parishad case after violent clashes broke out between Maratha and Dalit groups near Bhima Koregaon village in Pune on January 1, 2018, in which one person had died and several others were left injured.
A total of 16 people were arrested for alleged Maoist links and for “inciting riots”. Among them were Jyoti Raghoba Jagtap, Sagar Tatyaram Gorkhe, Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor, Sudhir Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Shoma Sen, Rona Wilson, Arun Ferreira, Sudha Bharadwaj, Varavara Rao, Vernon Gonsalves, Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha, Hany Babu and Father Stan Swamy. They were later booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for inciting violence.
The Elgaar Parishad was an event organised by a coalition of 260 non-profit organisations at Shaniwarwada Fort in Pune on December 31, 2017 to commemorate the bicentennial anniversary of the Battle of Koregaon Bhima. “Elgaar” means loud invitation or loud declaration.
Remembering Bhima Koregaon
The Shaniwarwada Fort was the seat of power of the Peshwas, the de facto rulers of the Maratha Empire. In the Battle of Bhima Koregaon, a regiment of Mahar Dalits, serving in the British Army had defeated the Peshwa's army. This victory holds great significance for the Mahar Dalits who see it as a victory over the Brahmin Peshwas. Organising the Parishad at the Shaniwarwada Fort was thus seen as a symbol of Dalit assertion.
On January 1, 1818, commemorating 800 dead soldiers of the East India Company's Bombay Presidency Army, a victory pillar (Vijay Stambh) was erected in Koregaon by the British. In 1928, BR Ambedkar led the first commemoration ceremony there. Since then Ambedkar’s followers have gathered at the Vijay Stambh to commemorate the occasion every year on January 1.
Maharashtra police alleged that inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave on December 31, 2017, triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the western Maharashtra city. Subsequently, the police conducted raids in Pune, Delhi and other cities across India to arrest members of the Elgar Parishad, which they claim was funded by Maoists.
Bail granted to few
Out of the 16 arrested for their alleged links with the Maoists in the Elgar Parishad case, seven have been granted bail by different courts over the last few years while eight are still languishing in jails. Stan Swamy is the only accused who died in custody.
The Supreme Court on May 14, 2024 granted bail to Gautam Navlakha, noting that the trial in the case was not likely to conclude any time soon.
The apex court granted bail to former Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen on April 5, 2024, considering the delay in framing of charges against the accused, her advanced age, and multiple ailments. However, the bench also directed Sen to follow certain conditions, with a warning that the bail will be cancelled if any of the conditions was violated or not complied with.
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Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gonsalves were granted bail by the Supreme Court on July 28, 2023. The Supreme Court said that both the activists had already been in jail for five years and thus could be granted bail.
Anand Teltumbde was released from the Taloja central prison in Navi Mumbai on November 26, 2022. The 73-year-old was released a day after the Supreme Court rejected the NIA plea challenging his bail.
Poet-activist P Varavara Rao was granted permanent bail on medical grounds by the Supreme Court of India on August 10, 2022. Sudha Bharadwaj was granted bail in December 2021 by the Bombay High Court on a technical ground.
The remaining eight accused – Jyoti Raghoba Jagtap, Sagar Tatyaram Gorkhe, Ramesh Murlidhar Gaichor, Sudhir Dhawale, Surendra Gadling, Mahesh Raut, Rona Wilson and Hany Babu – are still in the prison.
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Hany Babu, the Delhi University professor, was granted bail of four days by Bombay High Court to undergo cataract surgery and a medical check-up at a city-based hospital in 2022.
Similarly, Mahesh Raut was granted interim bail of two weeks by the Supreme Court to enable him to attend the last rites of his grandmother in June this year.
No end in sight to trial
The trial is underway in the case and is not likely to end any time soon. The pace of trial can be gauged by the observations made by the Supreme Court while granting bail to Navlakha earlier this year.
A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and SVN Bhatti said Navlakha had been incarcerated for more than four years and that the trial would take “years and years and years” to complete. The Supreme Court also noted that there were 370 witnesses in the case, six of his co-accused had already been released on bail and the charges had not been framed yet.
Also Read: Tribal rights activist Stan Swamy, arrested in Elgaar Parishad case, dies
Earlier, a fresh probe was ordered by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) regime and it was taken over by the NIA from Pune police in January 2020.
The case taken over by the NIA was based on an FIR filed in Pune alleging that banned Naxalite groups had organised the Elgar Parishad. Police claimed that speeches made at Elgar Parishad were at least partly responsible for instigating violence the next day. The Pune police had arrested 16 activists in connection with this case, accused them of “waging war against the nation”, promoting enmity between different caste groups, and spreading Maoist ideology.
Notably, two FIRs were filed following the Bhima Koregaon violence. The other FIR was filed by two Dalit women who had alleged that Hindutva groups were behind the January 1, 2018 violence in which one person from the Maratha community was killed and several others were injured.
Panel yet to complete probe
Apart from it, a commission of inquiry was also set up to probe into the Bhima Koregaon violence, but it is yet to submit its report.
The Maharashtra government, in August this year, granted yet another extension to the commission of inquiry till November 30. This was the fifteenth time that an extension was granted to the commission since it was constituted.
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The government had on February 9, 2018 constituted a two-member commission, headed by retired High Court judge Justice JN Patel to probe the cause of violence reported in Pune’s Bhima Koregaon on January 1, 2018. Former chief secretary Sumit Mallick was appointed the second member of the commission.
The commission could not function during the COVID-19 outbreak. The last extension was granted till August 31, 2024.
The commission sought another extension to complete the final arguments and compile its report. The state government granted the extension and has asked the commission to complete its work and submit the final report by November 30, 2024.