Elgaar Parishad case: Activists Sudhir Dhawale, Rona Wilson released from Taloja Central Jail

After their release, Wilson and Dhawale said they would not comment on the case but that the long incarceration they suffered of six years and seven months is a testimony of how the system operates. “We saw hundreds of people languishing in jail for years without trials completing on time. Some did not have the money to pay for their release despite being granted bail,” Dhawale said.

“I am happy about the release but the jail conditions and the long incarceration without bail shows how the system operates towards those silenced voices we were raising before our arrests,” Wilson said.

Of the 16 arrested in the case –nine are out of jail. In 2021, Father Stan Swamy passed away while in custody. Six others remain behind bars, including Mahesh Raut, who was granted bail by the Bombay High Court in September 2023, but his bail was stayed pending a final hearing.

While granting bail to Dhawale and Wilson, the court asked them to inform the court about their prospective place of residence in Mumbai and told them that they would not be able to leave the city without permission from the court.

Dhawale, a Dalit activist and editor of Marathi Magazine Vidrohi, is considered to be a key planner of the Elgaar Parishad meeting held in Pune on December 31, 2017. Dhawale had founded the ‘Republican Panthers Jatiantachi Chalwal’ to provide a common political platform for Dalits.

Wilson, before he was arrested in June 2018, was based in Delhi as the public relations secretary of the Committee for the Release of Political Prisoners. He had also campaigned against the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act.