ASIM SARODE

Up against a system which locks up people and forgets. Asim Sarode is fighting a lone battle to ensure their basic human rights.

He has withstood the anger of police and jail officials, threats from hired goons and organised mafia in the sex industry. For 34-year-old activist-lawyer Asim Sarode, these are common ‘‘occupational hazards’’ that he faces while fighting for human rights or providing legal aid to people with HIV. Assisted by eight youngsters who are part of the Human Rights and Law Defenders — an arm of the Sahayog Trust founded by his father Sarode demonstrates a relentless zeal in helping those who find gaining access to justice difficult and daunting.

 

Intervening in cases of human rights violations, extending legal aid to the poor and knocking on the doors of human rights commissions form the core of his activities. Sarode logged his most spectacular victory when, on September 7, he secured the release of a labourer, Armogam Kounder, who spent 11 years in jail for a crime he did not commit. In 1995, Kounder, who hails from Tirupatur near Chennai and spoke only Tamil, was falsely implicated by the police in a rape-cum-murder case of a six-year-old girl at Andheri. He was convicted in 2000 and handed out a life term. 

The twist of fate came when Iqbal Bargir, the police officer who had arrested Kounder as the prime accused, committed suicide on January 25, 2001. In his suicide note, Bargir said he could not bear the mental burden of framing several innocent people, including Kounder, in serious offences at the instance of his superiors.

The media carried details of Bargir’s suicide, which came to the notice of Kounder, who was lodged at Pune’s Yerawada central prison. Sarode, who had been frequenting Yerawada Jail while running para-legal courses and addressing human rights issues, met Kounder during one such visit and took up his case with the Bombay High Court. Having secured Kounder’s release, Sarode is now seeking compensation of Rs 50 lakh for him.

It is not an isolated instance of his fight for human rights. Take the case of 70-year-old Mehtab-bi Khan, serving life sentence at Yerawada jail after being convicted in 1996 of killing her daughter-in-law. Suffering from throat cancer, Mehtab-bi could barely consume food as her oesophagus was badly damaged. Doctors had given up on performing an operation owing to her health complications. Often, she would express her desire to breathe her last at home. Sarode took up her case by approaching various government agencies to secure her release on parole. He succeeded and Mehtab-bi was allowed to be with her family for four months. 

In another incident, Sarode helped prisoner Anil Jadhav of Baramati who was behind bars on charges of dowry harassment. Despite completing a two-year sentence, Jadhav was not released due to a communication delay between the prison and Baramati sessions court. Finally, Sarode fought for and secured his release. 

Till date, he has provided legal assistance to close to 500 people in search of justice. What motivates him to work for jail inmates is that the bulk of prisoners are poor and needy people from rural areas. ‘‘These are marginalised individuals with little resources, unlike people who have the means to engage top-notch lawyers to bail them out. Our law provides that each individual should get adequate representation to articulate his grievance. Working for valid rights of jail inmates is like practising law with a different perspective,’’ says Sarode. 

His drive and motivation comes from a family tradition of active social work. A native of village Metikheda in the tribal district of Yavatmal, Sarode recalls drawing inspiration from his grandfather who was part of Vinobha Bhave’s bhoodan movement. His father Suhas aka Balasaheb joined the JP movement, spending 18 months in jail during Emergency, prior to taking up the cause of the Maharashtra Sarvodaya Mandal in Yavatmal. Following his graduation in arts, Sarode obtained a diploma in journalism from the University of Pune and a degree in law from ILS Law College and then returned to Yavatmal for two years. 

After working on spreading awareness on women’s issues, he took up the cause of human rights in jails. ‘‘Even today, jails are riddled with many cases of human rights issues — cases that, if taken up, can open a Pandora’s box. Our objective is not to target any authority but to achieve a mindset change by highlighting these cases,’’ says Sarode. He feels that legal aid for HIV patients remains a critical area, as there are no laws yet in the country on HIV/AIDS.