Detained "without charges", Allahabad HC orders police to produce adivasi women rights activists by Sept 7

Sukalo Gond

By A Representative
In a major breakthrough, the Allahabad High Court has directed the superintendent of police (SP), Sonbhadra district, to produce adivasi human rights defenders, Sukalo and Kismatiya Gond, detained for more than two months now, in the court on September 7.
The order was issued in a Habeas Corpus petition filed by the Citizens for Peace and Justice (CJP), which is led by well-known rights activist Teesta Setalvad, and the All-India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP), on June 29. They were detained “illegally” on June 8, CJP said in a statement.
The detention followed a controversial clampdown May this year on 12 adivasis, including 10 women, of Lilasi Kala village of Sonebhadra district, Uttar Pradesh. They were detained on their way back from Lucknow, where they had a meeting with state forest minister Dara Singh Chauhan and forest secretary Sanjay Singh.
The activists met the minister and the secretary to lodge a complaint against "police brutality" of forest officials. They were reportedly picked up from Chopan station and were held for over 24 hours, during which time they were not allowed to contact their families, lawyers or anyone for help, after which they are said to have been “missing", with the police refusing to divulge their location.
Arguing in the court, advocate Farman Naqvi, who appeared for CJP and AIUFWP, has been quoted as saying, “Firstly they never stated the reason for custody or under what charges these women were being held. Sukalo's and Kismatiya’s names were not even mentioned in the FIR which is why they remained untraceable necessitating a Habeas Corpus Petition.”
Naqvi is also said to have highlighted the instances of how the UP Police made two different contradictory statements. “They made an oral submission in court on July 9 that both women had been taken into custody under section 151 for causing breach of peace, but later released. This submission was recorded by the court in the order sheet”, he said.
“However”, Naqvi added, “In the last week of July they submitted that both women were indeed arrested on June 8 and are presently in custody! We highlighted this anomaly in their statement during our arguments in court today.”
Closely following how adivasi women of Sonbhadra, UP, CJP said in a statement, they are part of a peaceful struggle for land rights and are being “systematically bullied and harassed. Many of them have fake cases filed against them on false or trumped up charges.”
Supporting AIUFWP in their demand for the immediate implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006, CJP said, “UP cops have continued to play dirty, just to ensure that these brave women stay behind bars. CJP and AIUFWP have filed a rejoinder to the Counter Affidavit filed by the Inspector of Police, Rupesh Kumar Singh of Muirpur Police station, in the order passed on Habeas Corpus Petition (No 3332/2018 filed by CJP) hearing on August 14, 2018.”
Pointing out that rejoinder “bats for their release while highlighting several serious flaws in the Counter Affidavit”, CJP said, “Referring to several committee recommendations passed in the past, the rejoinder draws attention to the plight of adivasis and their struggle for their rights and dignity, and the specific historical context of Sonbhadra and its Adivasis.

Comments

Gram sabha as reformer: Mandla’s quiet challenge to the liquor economy

By Raj Kumar Sinha* This year, the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj is organising a two-day PESA Mahotsav in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on 23–24 December 2025. The event marks the passage of the Panchayats (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act, 1996 (PESA), enacted by Parliament on 24 December 1996 to establish self-governance in Fifth Schedule areas. Scheduled Areas are those notified by the President of India under Article 244(1) read with the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, which provides for a distinct framework of governance recognising the autonomy of tribal regions. At present, Fifth Schedule areas exist in ten states: Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana. The PESA Act, 1996 empowers Gram Sabhas—the village assemblies—as the foundation of self-rule in these areas. Among the many powers devolved to them is the authority to take decisions on local matters, including the regulation...

MG-NREGA: A global model still waiting to be fully implemented

By Bharat Dogra When the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MG-NREGA) was introduced in India nearly two decades ago, it drew worldwide attention. The reason was evident. At a time when states across much of the world were retreating from responsibility for livelihoods and welfare, the world’s second most populous country—with nearly two-thirds of its people living in rural or semi-rural areas—committed itself to guaranteeing 100 days of employment a year to its rural population.

Policy changes in rural employment scheme and the politics of nomenclature

By N.S. Venkataraman* The Government of India has introduced a revised rural employment programme by fine-tuning the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which has been in operation for nearly two decades. The MGNREGA scheme guarantees 100 days of employment annually to rural households and has primarily benefited populations in rural areas. The revised programme has been named VB-G RAM–G (Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission – Gramin). The government has stated that the revised scheme incorporates several structural changes, including an increase in guaranteed employment from 100 to 125 days, modifications in the financing pattern, provisions to strengthen unemployment allowances, and penalties for delays in wage payments. Given the extent of these changes, the government has argued that a new name is required to distinguish the revised programme from the existing MGNREGA framework. As has been witnessed in recent years, the introdu...

Rollback of right to work? VB–GRAM G Bill 'dilutes' statutory employment guarantee

By A Representative The Right to Food Campaign has strongly condemned the passage of the Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB–GRAM G) Bill, 2025, describing it as a major rollback of workers’ rights and a fundamental dilution of the statutory Right to Work guaranteed under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). In a statement, the Campaign termed the repeal of MGNREGA a “dark day for workers’ rights” and accused the government of converting a legally enforceable, demand-based employment guarantee into a centralised, discretionary welfare scheme.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Making rigid distinctions between Indian and foreign 'historically untenable'

By A Representative Oral historian, filmmaker and cultural conservationist Sohail Hashmi has said that everyday practices related to attire, food and architecture in India reflect long histories of interaction and adaptation rather than rigid or exclusionary ideas of identity. He was speaking at a webinar organised by the Indian History Forum (IHF).

India’s Halal economy 'faces an uncertain future' under the new food Bill

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The proposed Food Safety and Standards (Amendment) Bill, 2025 marks a decisive shift in India’s food regulation landscape by seeking to place Halal certification exclusively under government control while criminalising all private Halal certification bodies. Although the Bill claims to promote “transparency” and “standardisation,” its structure and implications raise serious concerns about religious freedom, economic marginalisation, and the systematic dismantling of a long-established, Muslim-led Halal ecosystem in India.

From jobless to ‘job-loss’ growth: Experts critique gig economy and fintech risks

By A Representative Leading economists and social activists gathered in the capital on Friday to launch the third edition of the State of Finance in India Report 2024-25 , issuing a stark warning that the rapid digitalization of the Indian economy is eroding welfare systems and entrenching "digital dystopia."

Search This Blog