On the morning of May 10, I woke up to the news of the death of Mahavir Narwal, father of Delhi student activist Natasha Narwal who has be...
On the morning of May 10, I woke up to the news of the death of Mahavir Narwal, father of Delhi student activist Natasha Narwal who has been in prison for over a year now on charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Mahavir Narwal himself was a known activist and had been jailed during Emergency. He had tested positive for Covid-19 and had passed away the previous evening in a hospital in Rohtak.
His daughter had moved to the court seeking bail so that she could take care of her hospitalised father since the only other member of their family, her brother, was also Covid positive and in isolation. Their mother had passed away some years ago. By the time the matter was decided by the Delhi High Court and she was granted interim bail, her father had already died. In the order, the court noted that the hospital in Rohtak was “waiting for the applicant to receive the body”. The order in her regular bail application had been pending since April 27. She returned to prison on Sunday, May 30.
Every prisoner, even the one convicted for the most heinous offence, has a human right to communicate with their families. In my opinion, this includes the right to be informed about the health of...
