Binayak Sen gets bail; family overjoyed
The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to human rights activist and physician Binayak Sen, jailed for his alleged Maoist links but hailed by many as a person working tirelessly for the down-trodden.
Welcoming the verdict, his family members said they are relieved now.
The apex court said Sen was not guilty of sedition, bringing jubilation among the supporters of Sen.
The bail plea hearing was deferred from Monday last to Friday because the Chhattisgarh government had asked for two days’ time in the case.
The adjournment had come as an anti-climax to the expectations on Monday as the family of Sen along with human rights activists and even members of the European Union, which is monitoring the case, had gathered for the Supreme Court decision on the bail plea.
“My son went through a hell,? Binayak Sen’s mother Anasuya Sen told media from her Kalyani house in West Bengal.
“I am so relieved. I thought I will not live long enough to see my son again. A son will come home and you can imagine how a mother feels when her son comes home. I am so happy,” she said.
“My son should be as free as an ordinary man. All the cases against him should be squashed as soon as possible so that he is totally free and can go to any place in the world. He cannot be Gandhi but he is a Gandhian and believes in non-violence. From his childhood days, he always hated violence,? said Anasuya.
Sen?s wife Ilina said it is a very emotional moment for her.
“It’s a very emotional moment and I am relieved. But I did shut my mind for the last four months and had stopped thinking… I have now slowly started breathing and unwinding and I am really feeling good,” Ilina told media in Delhi after the verdict.
“We have to take copy of the order to trial court and bail has to be activated and Binayak has to be released from jail and lot of work still needs to be done,” she said.
?I am overjoyed,? said Sen?s brother Dipankar.
Sen?s daughter Aparajita said: “Our family was really shattered and it was a tough journey with Baba (father) inside (jailed). This (verdict) is the result of everybody’s hard work. Now I am looking forward to meeting him.”
On Feb 10, the Chhattisgarh High Court had struck down the plea following which Sen?s counsel and family had moved the apex court.
Hearing the plea on Mar 11, the apex court had issued a notice to the Chhattisgarh government, asking it to file a response within four weeks.
The state government in its reply opposed Sen’s bail plea, saying he had deep links with hardcore Maoists and provides them with active support to spread their network.
Senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani appeared on behalf of Sen. The bail plea has been sought on grounds that the trial court convicted him erroneously despite no substantial evidence.
The petition also says that Sen has already spent two years in prison after his arrest and should be granted bail while his appeal is pending at the High Court.
Sen’s trial is closely monitored by human rights activists the world over while a delegation of the European Union also came to India to see the judicial process.
Forty Nobel laureates from 12 countries earlier appealed for Binayak Sen?s release.
The Nobel laureates, including Ventkatraman Ramakrishnan, had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, appealing for Sen?s release and called Sen an ?exceptional, courageous and selfless colleague, dedicated to helping those in India who are least able to help themselves.”
Sen was sentenced for sedition by a Sessions court in Raipur on Dec 24. His family had moved the Chhattisgarh High Court against the life sentence.
Sen, who was arrested in May 2007 from Bilaspur, was detained for two years, and released on bail in May 2009.
In 2008, he was awarded the Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights by the Global Health Council.