Binayak Sen denied bail in sedition case
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It’s a black day for human rights in India say activists, after doctor and human rights activist Binayak Sen, sentenced to life imprisonment for sedition, was denied bail by the Chhattisgarh High Court
On February 10, 2011, the Chhattisgarh High Court rejected the bail plea of doctor and human rights activist Dr Binayak Sen. Sen was earlier sentenced to life imprisonment by a sessions court on charges of sedition. The court will continue to hear his appeal against the life sentence.
Sen was imprisoned for two years after being arrested on May 14, 2007. He was granted bail by the Supreme Court in 2009. A paediatrician by profession and vice-president of the People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL), Sen worked in rural and insurgency-hit areas of Chhattisgarh and has been an outspoken critic of the excesses committed by the Salwa Judum, a vigilante force created by the state government to counter the Maoists.
On December 24, 2010, the Raipur district and sessions court convicted him along with Maoist Narayan Sanyal and Kolkata-based businessman Piyush Guha, of sedition and sentenced all three to life imprisonment under provisions of Section 124 A (Sedition), 120 B (criminal conspiracy), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005.
Sen appealed against the sentence but the division bench of Justices T P Sharma and Rajeshwarlal Jhanwar upheld the sentence. It also dismissed Guha’s bail petition.
Sen’s counsel, veteran criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani, argued before the high court that “this was a case of no evidence” as the proof produced before the trial court lacked credibility. But Additional Advocate General Kishore Bhaduri claimed that multiple files found in the computer seized from Sen’s house and the circumstances of the case clearly pointed to Sen’s “strong links” with Maoists.
Sen’s wife, Ilina Sen, said they were likely to file an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging the high court’s decision.
“It appears that the court has relied on the prosecution’s argument of culpability by association,” said Ramesh Gopalakrishnan of Amnesty International, adding that he was yet to read the 34-page judgment. “The prosecution’s argument was based on thin evidence and did not establish the chain of events from Dr Sen’s association with Narayan Sanyal to any actual acts of violence,” he said. Prior to the appeal verdict, he had said: “Dr Sen’s case is truly a test case for India. The world will be watching this week to see the result.”
Sen’s conviction and sentence has led to outrage in many quarters and support for him has poured in from social activists and the intellectual community who believe that it was Sen’s opposition to the exploitation of poor communities in Chhattisgarh that led to his arrest and the unusually harsh sentence. His detention without bail after his arrest was condemned in a letter signed by 100 Nobel Laureates. A rally attended by 700 people in Raipur, on January 30, 2011, demanded Sen’s release and scrapping of the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act. Members of the European Union were present in court during the current hearing.
Source: The Indian Express, February 11, 2011
The Hindu, February 11, 2011
The Pioneer, February 11, 2011