India frees Muslim academic after five-year detention
Bombay High Court frees Delhi University professor held under India’s anti-terror law in Bhima Koregaon case widely criticized for jailing activists without trial
MUMBAI, India (MNTV) — The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to Hany Babu, a Muslim academic and professor at Delhi University, who spent more than five years in prison without trial under India’s controversial anti-terror law in the Bhima Koregaon case — a prosecution widely condemned by rights groups as a tool to suppress dissent and silence government critics.
A division bench of Justice A.S. Gadkari and Justice R.R. Bhonsale ordered Babu’s release after he deposited a bail bond of 100,000 Indian rupees ($1,200). The detailed judgment is expected to be issued shortly.
Babu was arrested in July 2020 by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, India’s sweeping anti-terror legislation that allows prolonged detention without trial.
He was accused of having links to banned Maoist groups and involvement in a conspiracy to assassinate Prime Minister Narendra Modi — allegations his lawyers have repeatedly rejected as fabricated and politically motivated.
Babu told the court he had spent over five years and two months in jail while the trial made little progress, arguing that prolonged imprisonment without conviction violates the principle of due process. His defense team said the delay alone justified bail, noting that hearings repeatedly stalled in the lower court.
What is the Bhima Koregaon case?
The case stems from violence that broke out in January 2018 during a Dalit commemoration event in Bhima Koregaon, Maharashtra. Instead of prosecuting those responsible for the clashes, authorities arrested 16 lawyers, academics, journalists and human rights activists, accusing them of plotting to overthrow the government. Several remain imprisoned under the UAPA, including:
- Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old Jesuit priest who died in custody in 2021 after repeatedly being denied medical bail
- Gautam Navlakha, journalist
- Sudha Bharadwaj, labour activist
- Rona Wilson, researcher
- Anand Teltumbde, academic
International rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have described the case as part of a broader crackdown on dissent in India, where critics of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) face increasing criminalization under anti-terror laws.
The prosecution argued that Babu’s incarceration was shorter than that of other accused and thus insufficient grounds for bail, but the High Court found the prolonged judicial delay a valid basis for release.
The judgment comes amid growing concern over India’s democratic backsliding, shrinking space for political opposition and the weaponization of national security laws to stifle academic and activist voices.
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