Binayak Sen

BILASPUR: Chhattisgarh High Court will pronounce its order on the bail application of Dr Binayak Sen on Thursday afternoon. The civil rights activist has spent a month and half in Raipur jail after the sessions court sentenced him to life term for sedition on December 24.

On Wednesday, the HC division bench of Justice T P Sharma and Justice R L Jhanwar reserved an order on his bail plea after the prosecution wrapped up its arguments.

Opposing the bail plea, additional advocate general Kishore Bhaduri, representing Chhattisgarh government, argued that Sen had been convicted guilty on serious charges. “This is not a simple case of a doctor doing welfare,” he said. “Tranferring letters is not the only crime. This (evidence) indicates strong nexus with these groups ( Maoists), of pampering them, fomenting them, bringing (Binayak) in the clutches of sedition”.

On December 24, Raipur session judge B P Varma had found Binayak Sen guilty of acting as a courier of letters between jailed Maoist ideologue Narayan Sanyal and Piyush Guha. All three were sentenced to life term. Both Sen and Guha’s lawyers appealed against the verdict in the High court at Bilaspur in the first week of January.

On January 24, eminent lawyer and BJP MP Ram Jethmalani argued on Sen’s behalf. He contended that sedition charges do not hold unless there is direct incitement to violence. He also argued that the main basis of conviction – Piyush Guha’s alleged statement to the police naming Binayak Sen as the courier of letters – was not admissible as evidence.