Jailers' apathy? Political prisoners’ right to life in India is 'almost non-existent'

Stan Swamy, Vernon Gonsalves

By Deepika Tandon, Shahana Bhattarcharya*
On 8th September Vernon Gonsalves, one of the 16 undertrials in the Bhima Koregaon case lodged in the anda cell of Taloja Central Jail, was diagnosed with dengue and likely pneumonia.

Gonsalves age 65, had been suffering from fever since 30th August, but it took an appeal from his lawyer and the intervention of the Court for the Taloja Jail authorities to shift him to JJ Hospital for treatment. The fact that he was immediately put on oxygen support at the hospital, points to the apathy of the jail authorities regarding the health of prisoners lodged in their custody.
The incident marked the two month anniversary of the Special Court rejecting Gautam Navlakha’s petition for a mosquito net. On 20th May the jail authorities had confiscated the mosquito nets of some inmates housed in the anda cell.

Sagar Gorkhe and several others had gone on hunger strike expressing apprehensions about contracting malaria and dengue as Taloja is infested by mosquitos. The abysmal jail facilities and hostility of jail staff added to these fears which have all come true.
Vernon Gonsalves’ present health condition and delayed hospitalisation underlines the vindictive intent of the jail authorities, the NIA and the Special Courts towards the Bhima Koregaon accused.

The fact that while the Court set aside Gautam Navlakha’s plea for restitution of his mosquito net, that the jail authorities did not oppose the Court granting the Antilia terror case accused ex-policeman Sunil Mane permission to use a mosquito net, further underlines the active bias against political prisoners.
The pattern of medical negligence, a facet of state oppression against political prisonsers is all too familiar: e.g. Siddique Kappan, journalist and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) accused was shifted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and diagnosed with Covid, 5 days after falling ill, following orders from the Supreme Court.

The Solicitor General and Mathura Jail authorities had vehemently opposed bail despite 50 confirmed Covid cases in the over-crowded jail where Kappan was lodged.

Denial of bail, negligence of jail staff and paucity of health facilities suggest incarceration of Bhima Koregaon accused has taken a murderous turn

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has consistently opposed bail, including medical and temporary bail, on the grounds that the UAPA charges against the Bhima Koregaon accused are very grave, and the court has accepted this logic (most recently in the rejection of Gautam Navlakha’s bail petition on 5th September on the same grounds), despite the case not having come to trial more than four years after the first arrests.

The denial of bail, coupled with the negligence of the jail staff and paucity of health and sanitation facilities, means that the incarceration of the Bhima Koregaon accused has taken on a murderous turn.

Without a trial in sight, the anxiety of an endless wait, the impossibility of bail, Stan Swamy’s death and Varavara Rao’s debilitating health, the incarceration itself has become a punishment.
The fear is real. Previous fatalities like the death of Stan Swamy and more recently of Pandu Narote, a tribal agricultural worker convicted in 2017 under UAPA, who died of swine-flu on 25th August in Nagpur Hospital tell an appallingly familiar story of delayed treatment, not informing the lawyer and family, under-equipped hospital.

Political prisoners’ right to life, whether as an undertrial when yet not proven guilty or as a convict serving his sentence as per law, is almost non-existent.
Right to Information (RTI) pleas by the People's Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) to Taloja Jail authorities asking for information on the number of deaths in Taloja, health and sanitation, medical infrastructure, all within the ambit of the Maharashtra Jail Hospitals Manual, have received no reply. In this context, though Vernon and the others have been forced to go to Court to get medical attention, paradoxically the cases have brought to light the despicable lack of medical facilities for prisoners.
One wonders about the unknown many with no access to the courts who have suffered, even died for want of medical aid.
PUDR has demanded:

The release of all undertrials in the Bhima Koregaon case.
Prosecution of Ex-Taloja Superintendent.
Kurlekar, responsible for Stan Swamy’s death
An inquiry into medical negligence by the jail staff.
Providing proper health facilities and immediate medical attention to jail inmates.
Decongestion of Taloja Jail.
Protecting the rights of political prisoners.

---
*Secretaries PUDR

Comments

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.

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra* It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.

Rally in Patna: Non-farmer bodies to highlight plight of agriculture in Eastern India ahead of march to Parliament

P Sainath By A Representative Ahead of the march to Parliament on November 29-30, 2018, organized by over 210 farmer and agricultural worker organisations of the country demanding a 21-day special session of Parliament to deliberate on remedial measures for safeguarding the interest of farm, farmers and agricultural workers, a mass rally been organized for November 23, Gandhi Sangrahalaya (Gandhi Museum), Gandhi Maidan, Patna. Say the organizers, the Eastern region merits special attention, because, while crisis of farmers and agricultural workers in Western, Southern and Northern India has received some attention in the media and central legislature, the plight of those in the Eastern region of the country (Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Eastern UP) has remained on the margins. To be addressed by P Sainath, founder of People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), a statement issued ahead of the rally says, the Eastern India was the most prosperous regi...

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.

As 2024 draws nearer, threatening signs appear of more destructive wars

By Bharat Dogra The four years from 2020 to 2023 have been very difficult and high risk years for humanity. In the first two years there was a pandemic and such severe disruption of social and economic life that countless people have not yet recovered from its many-sided adverse impacts. In the next two years there were outbreaks of two very high-risk wars which have worldwide implications including escalation into much wider conflicts. In addition there were highly threatening signs of increasing possibility of other very destructive wars. As the year 2023 appears to be headed for ending on a very grim note, there are apprehensions about what the next year 2024 may bring, and there are several kinds of fears. However to come back to the year 2020 first, the pandemic harmed and threatened a very large number of people. No less harmful was the fear epidemic, the epidemic of increasing mental stress and the cruel disruption of the life and livelihoods particularly among the weaker s...

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification.

Counterview

Search This Blog