Chidambaram welcomes SC verdict on Binayak Sen

New Delhi, Apr 15 (ANI): Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Friday expressed happiness over the verdict of the Supreme Court, which granted bail to civil rights activist Binayak Sen, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of sedition and for having links with Naxalites.

"I am happy to know that Binayak Sen has got bail from the Supreme Court. I have always believed that if one is not satisfied with a lower court order, one can get reprieve by approaching a higher court," said Chidambaram.

Union Water Resources Minister Salman Khurshid also welcomed the judgement, saying that a general impression was gaining ground that the treatment meted out to Sen was incorrect.

Khurshid, who also holds the additional charge of Minority Affairs, further said that after Sen is out on bail, he will also have something to say and people will get another aspect to hear.

The Supreme Court earlier today granted bail to Binayak Sen, saying that the evidence on record proves there is no sedition case against Sen.

The apex court also observed that mere possession of Naxal literature does not make a person a Naxalite, guilty of sedition, as one who possesses Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography cannot call himself a Gandhian.

An apex court bench of Justices HS Bedi and CK Prasad, which passed the order on the petition granting bail to Binayak Sen, saying the trial court would impose the condition of bail while ordering jail authorities to release him.

Sen, 61, had challenged a Chhattisgarh High Court order that rejected his bail plea on February 10.

He sought bail contending that the trial court had erred in convicting him without substantial evidence.

Binayak Sen had filed a petition in the Chhattisgarh High Court on January 6, challenging a district and sessions court order that had convicted him on various charges, including sedition, and had sentenced him to life imprisonment.

A Raipur Sessions Court had on December 24 last year held Sen and three other people guilty of treason and for waging war against the state. He was also found guilty of sedition.

Sen was arrested in Chhattisgarh in 2007 and was granted bail two years later. Binayak Sen is a recipient of Jonathan Mann Award in 2008 while still in prison. (ANI)