Delhi University professor and noted academic Dr. Hany Babu completed five years in prison on Monday, 28 July 2025, in connection with the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case. Babu, a prominent anti-caste activist and advocate for social justice, was arrested on 28 July 2020 by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Babu is among several Dalit and Adivasi rights activists accused by authorities of inciting violence through speeches made on 31 December 2017 at the Elgar Parishad event in Pune. The speeches were allegedly linked to caste-based clashes that erupted the next day in Bhima Koregaon and surrounding villages in Maharashtra. The state has also alleged that the accused have links to banned Maoist organizations.
Currently lodged in Taloja Central Jail in Navi Mumbai, Babu has yet to stand trial. His prolonged incarceration has sparked widespread criticism from civil society groups and human rights advocates. In 2021, his family and legal representatives accused jail authorities of neglecting his medical needs, including treatment for a severe eye infection that reportedly led to partial vision loss.
On Monday, the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR)—a collective of over 30 organizations—renewed calls for Babu’s immediate release, calling his imprisonment “wrongful.” Jenny Rowena, Babu’s wife and a fellow professor at Delhi University, criticized the arrest, alleging procedural lapses during the police raid and data seizure from his computer prior to his detention.
“It is horrific that a university professor is imprisoned for years without trial, based solely on questionable digital evidence. This could happen to anyone working for social justice,” Rowena said in an earlier interview with Maktoob.
Earlier this month, on 16 July, the Supreme Court allowed Babu to approach either the trial court or the Bombay High Court to seek bail. The court also permitted him to revive a previously withdrawn special leave petition (SLP) concerning his bail plea. A bench of Justices Pankaj Mithal and PB Varale dismissed a miscellaneous application from Babu seeking clarity on whether the withdrawal of his SLP would affect his right to seek bail in the high court.
Babu had initially withdrawn his SLP before the Supreme Court in May 2024 to pursue bail through the Bombay High Court, which has since granted bail to several other co-accused, including Rona Wilson, Sudhir Dhawale, and Sudha Bharadwaj. The Supreme Court has also granted bail to poet Varavara Rao on medical grounds, and to Shoma Sen, Vernon Gonsalves, and Arun Ferreira on merits.
As Babu completes five years behind bars without trial, activists and supporters continue to question the prolonged use of UAPA in cases involving academics and rights defenders.
