Binayak Sen?s bail hearing adjourned till Feb 9

Bilaspur (Chattisgarh) : The Chhattisgarh High Court on Friday adjourned the hearing of the bail plea of human rights activist and physician Binayak Sen, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment for supporting Maoist rebels, till February 9.

Sen’s lawyer Surendra Singh on Tuesday argued that till date, no documents seized from his client, indicate he should be charged with sedition.

Meanwhile, India?s prominent artists have written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging the release of Sen.

Several leading artists, including Naseerudin Shah, Sharmila Tagore, Aparna Sen, Mahesh Bhatt and Rahul Bose, have moved Singh, seeking Sen?s release, reports said on Wednesday.

Their move comes in contrast to the appeal by the wife of a policeman, who had fallen to Maoist attack.

Ranjana, wife of slain Rajnandgaon superintendent of police Vinod Kumar Choubey has filed a petition before the Chattisgarh High Court seeking denial of bail to Sen.

She has contended that if Sen and the co-accused were released, it would lead to more attacks like the one in which her husband was killed.

Sen, who was sentenced by a Sessions court in Raipur on Dec 24, has moved the Chhattisgarh High Court against the life sentence.

The court is hearing his petition.

An eight-member European Council team of observers is also watching the proceedings.

Meanwhile, Sen?s wife, Ilina, is also facing possibility of arrest for providing accommodation to foreigners without informing the local police during the 13th national conference by the Indian Association for Women Studies at the Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

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.