Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferrieira and Vernon Gonslaves Bail Denied

BY- JAHNVI SRIVASTAVA

BACKGROUND

Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferrieira and Vernon Gonslaves have been arrested by the Police under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act after the case was lodged against them in August last year.
Pune police filed a charge sheet At UAPA against 5 persons including the above accused.
The allegations of police were that all of them had some links with Maoists ( Naxal group Communist Party of India ) and they were planning to overthrow the current government. Further, it was alleged that it could lead to a war-like situation.
Their plea in Pune was rejected by a special judge in October last year hence they decided to move to Bombay HC for relief. On October 1 the pleadings began, from the police side the Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) firstly opposed the bail plea and further claimed that both the accused were involved in the recruiting cadre of Maoists.
On 3^rd October it was claimed by the Pune police that not only the accused but the lawyer as well as trade unionist Sudha Bharadwaj are associated with four organisations that includes Anuradha Gandhi Memorial (AGM), Committee for release of political prisoners (CRPP), Indian Association of People’s Lawyer (IAPL) and Persecuted Prisoners Solidarity Committee (PPSC) are the front groups of Maoists.
The prosecutor also has given a reference of case NIA vs. Zahoor Ahmed by the apex court, in which the fact that admissibility of the documents produced by the prosecutor shall be considered at the time of trial was highlighted.

The senior council minister Mihir Desai represented Vernon Gonsalves whereas Advocate Yug Mohit Chaudhry and Sudeep Pasbola represented Sudha Bharadwaj and Arun for their Bail.

Council for Arun Ferrieira argued that his client was inspired by the Marxist ideology but this cannot be posed as a ground to associate him with the banned group in any way. Further, he alleged that his client was dragged into the case because of the co-accused Surendra Gadling associated with activist and DU Professor G. N. Saibaba who have been booked for his links with the banned group. The same goes for Sudha Bharadwaj as she was Vice President of IAPL.

On 30^th August, it was alleged by the council of Sudha Bharadwaj that the documents produced by the police were not only inadmissible but also were not signed as well as not verified.

“On merits of the case, I have one contention, there is not a single document that is admissible in law. All the documents are printouts, not originals. According to the prosecution, letters relied upon by them have not been generated from the computer they were recovered from, instead, they have been copied on the hard drive of the accused”

Hence he wanted bail for his client Bharadwaj.

CURRENT ISSUE

The hearing of the case began on 26^th August, by Justice S. V. Kotwal. It was on 7^th October when Justice Kotwal reversed the order.

Then on 15^th October i.e. on Tuesday, Bombay HC Justice Kotwal dismissed the Bail plea for Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferrieira and Vernon Gonsalves. In August, the accused were first under house arrest by Pune police in the state of Maharashtra. Then on October 26 they were taken into custody after their bail plea was dismissed by the Pune Session Court. Then after they approached the High Court last year.

It was seen on 1^st October when there was violence in which one died and it also involved police officers and others who got injured was suspected to have strong link with the Naxal group.

Co-accused Poet Varavara Rao and Journalist Gautam Navlakha were also arrested for the same as they are also suspected to have links with the banned group.

According to the evidences by the police , the material facts prima facie shows that the three accused were a part of the CPI -Maoists. Considering the facts the court observed that: “State armed forces were treated as ‘enemy forces’. One of the important tasks was recruiting cadres and there is material in charge-sheet to show that prima facie applicants had actively worked towards fulfilling that responsibility.” Justice Kotwal also observed that : "Facts sufficiently establish prima facie that the applicant (Vernon Gonsalves), on instructions of the banned organization, was recruiting cadres from the institutions like TISS,"

CONCLUSION

The Indian government have banned the CPI Maoists under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and this group from 22^nd June, 2009 onwards is recognized as the terrorist organization . Now if the three accused Sudha Bharadwaj, Arun Ferrieira and Vernon Gonslaves who are already denied Bail are proved to have been a part of this terrorist organization then appropriate action and punishment will be delivered by the single bench by Justice Kotwal.
The UAPA acts state that whosoever takes part or commits and advocates, abides, initiates the commission of any such offence then those unlawful activities will be punished with a term of imprisonment which shall extend to seven years and also some fine will be imposed upon.

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