New Delhi, 20 March
CPIML is deeply disappointed and disturbed at the Supreme Court's rejection of the plea for interim bail to human rights defenders and public intellectuals Gautam Navlakha and Anand Teltumbde in the Bhima Koregaon case. The rejection of this plea means that the two will have to surrender themselves to police within three weeks.
The Supreme Court's role as a defender of Constitutional liberties and a bastion of justice stands severely threatened and undermined. The nomination of former CJI Ranjan Gogoi as a Rajya Sabha MP by the President of India within four months of his completing his tenure as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India casts a shadow on the many sensitive cases in which he delivered judgements which favoured the executive (Government) which has now given him this benefit.
The Bhima Koregaon case has been a pretext for an unprecedented witch hunt of India's leading rights defenders. There are ample indications that the "evidence" in the case was planted inside computers of the accused persons using malaware and even spy software that was available only to state agencies.
CPIML expresses the warmest solidarity with Gautam Navkhakha and Anand Teltumbde, whose courage and commitment to democratic values is an inspiration to the whole world. We demand withdrawal of the trumped up charges in the Bhima Koregaon case, and release of all those rights defenders who have been incarcerated under the draconian UAPA in this case.
- Central Committee CPIML
