People Web International

By PWI Regional Reporter Central India

RAIPUR, INDIA - The Supreme Court Of India upheld the bail of Dr. Binayak Sen in a landmark judgement, stating that a mere association with an unlawful organization does not amount to crime. The verdict was given by Justice Markandey Katju .

Dr. Binayak Sen, was convicted on December 24th  2010, of sedition by a Raipur Court, who had found him guilty of passing on information to Maoist rebels in the territory. An award-winning doctor, working in the tribal areas of Chhattisgarh, had been a victim to conflicting reports earlier, on his alleged involvement in supported violent activities.

 Earlier it was stated that Dr. Sen had passed on three letters written by the alleged Maoist Narayan Sanyal, an inmate of the Raipur central jail, to Pijush Guha, a Kolkata-based businessman. All three were convicted of conspiracy by the Raipur court.

Earlier, thousands of supporters had gathered in Bhopal and Raipur to protest against the life imprisonment sentence. Dr. Sen pleaded innocent on the grounds that his visits to Sanyal were in the capacity as a physician and as a human rights activist. The decision has been lauded in parts of the states of Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

Photo: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Dr._Binayak_Sen.jpg

-- by PWI Regional Reporter Central India - central.india@peoplewebinternational.com