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\n<\/span>The denial of bail to Father Swamy \u201cproves that the government is still panicked by dissenting voices of intellectuals,\u201d said Father A. Santhanam, a Jesuit lawyer, who is closely monitoring the case. <\/p>\n
Father Swamy is among 16 activists and intellectuals arrested last year\u00a0in connection with a violent incident in Bhima Koregaon village Maharashtra state on Jan. 1, 2018, in which one person was killed and several others wounded.<\/span><\/p>\nThe NIA investigators claim those arrested conspired with Maoists to\u00a0incite\u00a0Dalits and Muslims against the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nHuman rights groups say those arrested have at some point opposed policies and programs of federal and state governments led by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThe NIA should be ready for trial or submit no objection for the release of all the arrested in this case. Judicial custody for years while awaiting trial is a human rights violation,\u201d Father Santhanam told UCA News.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe priest, based in southern Tamil Nadu state has vowed to continue the fight \u201cuntil the elderly priest gets justice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nHe claimed Father Swamy\u00a0was imprisoned for filing public interest litigation (PIL) in Jharkhand High Court for the release of innocent young indigenous people languishing in the state\u2019s prisons in 2018 when the\u00a0BJP ran the government.<\/span><\/p>\nSome of the jailed people were also accused of having links with Maoists, who are accused of running a parallel government in some parts of Jharkhand.<\/span><\/p>\nBail is a right of a pre-trial prisoner. Unchecked and unending judicial custody should not be a punishment for unproven allegations\u00a0against anyone,\u201d the lawyer-priest told UCA News March 22.<\/span><\/p>\nFather Swamy sought bail on Oct. 23, two weeks after his arrest, on medical grounds as the priest suffers from Parkinson’s disease. But was turned down.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nHis lawyer Sharif Shaikh moved to the court for regular bail on Nov. 26, highlighting that he had to be shifted to the prison hospital due to declining health.<\/span><\/p>\nThe lawyer also told the court that his name was not in the initial report, but was later added as a suspect.<\/span><\/p>\nPublic Prosecutor Prakash Shetty opposed the bail plea and said that Father Swamy was involved with banned Maoist rebels. Shetty claimed to have incriminating evidence against Father Swamy from the priest\u2019s own laptop and elsewhere.<\/span><\/p>\nFather Jerome Stanislaus D\u2019Souza, president of the Jesuits in South Asia, said the denial of bail has \u201csaddened\u201d the order.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cHe will be released soon and acquitted after a fair trial. We have a deep faith in the Constitution of India and in the judiciary,\u201d he said in a March 22 statement.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWe pray to God for strength and courage to bear this painful verdict\u201d and asked Jesuits \u201cto continue with prayers” for the legal team that is working for the release of Father Swamy.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n