Archive

"I was never a member of any banned outfit and this has been proved both in the Delhi and Patiala courts,” said Kobad Ghandy in Patiala on October 18, 2016 after the court of Additional Sessions and District Judge Mohammad Gulzar acquitted him of all charges in a six-year-old case. The alleged leader of the banned CPI (Maoist) party had been booked by the police in 2010 for delivering two "anti-national” speeches at Punjabi University, reported the Tribune on October 19.

 

 

 

 

 

Defence counsel Brijinder Singh Sodhi, arguing for Ghandy, drew attention to the questionable credentials of one of the prosecution witnesses who he claimed was already facing multiple criminal cases and had even been awarded life term by a court. Such witnesses had personal interests — of getting ‘concessions’ from the police — and had given statements under pressure, Sodhi stated. According to the Tribune report, another witness refused to identify Ghandy as the one who had delivered a speech on the university campus.
The defence also challenged the prosecution on its failure to produce a single university employee to testify against Ghandy even though it had listed 13 witnesses.
The accused had been booked in January 2010 by Patiala Sadar police under Sections 10, 13, 18 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Sections 419 and 120-B of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) for holding meetings on the premises of Punjabi University in April and May 2009 to allegedly promote the Maoist ideology.
Ghandy had been taken to Patiala from Cherlapally Central Jail, Telangana, on September 27, 2016. The case was concluded in 20 days, with the hearing held daily.
In May 2016, one of Ghandy’s associates, Bacha Yadav who was also facing charges under UAPA was discharged by the same court for want of prosecution sanction, which was to come from the Union government. He was released from Central Jail, Patiala, in June.
Ghandy had been arrested by the Delhi police in September 2009 and had later moved a bail plea in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which was rejected. He had pleaded that he was booked for delivering a lecture on the Punjabi University campus in April and May 2009 at which time CPI (Maoist) had not been banned, he argued. The party was banned on June 22, 2009.
A Delhi court had also acquitted Ghandy in June this year of charges under Section 20 and 38 (member of banned outfit and furthering its activities) of UAPA, but convicted him of cheating, forgery and impersonation under provisions of the IPC. Following the conviction, he had been shifted to Cherlapally Central Jail, Tribune reported. 
Dr Gautam Vohra, chairman of Development Research and Action Group in Delhi, has shared with Parsiana the response he received from the national Human Rights Commission (Law Division) to whom he had written on April 24, 2014, complaining about the inhuman treatment being meted out to Ghandy in Tihar Jail. The deputy registrar (law) wrote that the matter had been considered by the Commission on July 15, 2016, over two years later! The letter, which was dated August 9, 2016, glossing over the true nature of the treatment the elderly prisoner was receiving, states that the Commission has decided that "Shri Kobad cannot be kept in senior citizen ward of Central Jail No 3 due to security reasons. It is submitted that hot water is provided to prisoners, if medical officer recommends for the same, and personal sevadar is not provided to prisoners. It is also submitted that Shri Kobad has also send a letter to Deputy General (Prisons) thanking for having transferring him back to Central Jail No 3 which has a hospital having proper medical facilities… Since the grievances of the complainant have been resolved, no further action is called for…the case is closed.”