On March 16, human rights activist Gautam Navlakha penned a letter, piecing together words of lament and surrendering to imminent arrest. Mr. Navlakha, is among the 16 human rights defenders who were arrested without trial in 2018 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, for their alleged role in instigating caste violence at Bhima Koregaon. . In a letter published in The Caravan, he wrote he was “joining the ranks of thousands of others who are made to suffer for their convictions,” and dared to “hope to be freed” from “another conspiracy trial.”
Mr. Navlakha walked free after four years of incarceration on May 14. The Supreme Court granted bail to the 70-year-old, noting that charges are yet to be framed, and the trial would take “years and years and years for its completion.”
Six of Mr. Navlakha’s co-accused have been released on bail in the last six years: Sudha Bharadwaj, Anand Teltumbde, Vernon Gonsalves, Arun Ferreira, Varavara Rao and Shoma Sen. Activist Mahesh Raut secured bail in September last year but continues to remain in jail. Still behind bars are activists Rona Wilson and Sudhir Dhawale; lawyer Surendra Gadling; associate professor Hany Babu; activists and artists Sagar Gorkhe, Ramesh Gaichor and Jyoti Jagtap. Father Stan Swamy passed away while in detention in Mumbai’s Taloja Jail in July 2021, after being denied bail under medical grounds several times.
