By IANS,
Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh): A division bench of the Chhattisgarh High Court Monday heard rights activist Binayak Sen’s bail plea for over two hours and decided to continue the hearing the next day.
Sen is presently lodged in a central jail in Raipur after he was given life term by a trial court in Raipur Dec 24 on sedition charges over his links with Maoist ideologue Narayan Sanyal.
A division bench comprising Justice T.P. Sharma and Justice R.L. Jhanwar held the hearing in the afternoon. BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ram Jethmalani, representing Sen in the high court, contested the lower court ruling and sought bail for the doctor-turned rights activist.
Sen, 60, was held guilty by the trial court in a criminal conspiracy to commit sedition along with two others – Kolkata-based businessman Piyush Guha and Maoist ideologue Narayan Sanyal.
The trial court verdict was widely slammed by human right activists in India and abroad who say he was victimised by the Chhattisgarh government for highlighting human rights abuses.