SC orders release of Binayak Sen

On Monday, the Supreme Court ordered the release of prominent civil rights activist Binayak Sen, who is lodged in a Chhattisgarh jail for the past two years. A vacation bench of Justices Markandey Katju and Deepak Verma ordered Sen's release on his submitting a personal bond to the satisfaction of the local trial court. A prominent PUCL leader, Sen was arrested by the Chhattisgarh police for allegedly colluding with certain naxalite leaders in their activities, a charge denied by him. This is the the second time that Dr Sen's bail plea had come up for hearing. Dr Sen had appealed for bail on grounds of ill health. He has been suffering from a serious heart condition and doctors had advised him treatment at Vellore. Dr Sen was booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and dumped in Raipur jail since May 14, 2007. The Chhattisgarh Government has accused Sen, of acting as a courier for Naxalites in jail, but no evidence against him was ever found. ever since Sen's arrest, there was a swelling tide of protests in India and abroad. The World Human Rights Organisation had said that Sen's case was a dark spot on Indian democracy. In 2008, more than 2,000 doctors from all over the world signed petitions demanding Dr Sen's release. They include prominent American writer Noam Chomsky.