BINAYAK CONVICTED – SENTENCE STILL TO BE PRONOUNCED
Kavita Srivastava
By now you all must have got to know about the conviction of Dr. Binayak Sen u/s of 120(B), 124(A) of the IPC and 1,2,3,5, Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act and Sec 39 (2) of the UAPA (2004 amended).
The court has not yet pronounced the sentence. We are waiting for that. Binayak was taken away immediately into custody. He was extremely equanimous. It was an emotional moment for Dr. Sen’s daughters and brother Dipanker. Ilina of course is upset but thinking ahead.
This judgment is really unacceptable and unconstitutional. After all two of the laws under which he has been convicted are themselves being questioned as far as their constitutional validity is concerned.
We need to know the nature of the sentence in order to know whether we can apply for bail. 124(a) has imprisonment up to life, so does Sec 39(2) of the UAPA. Bail can only be applied if the sentence is up to three years.
Well, we need to really build a campaign again. there was really no evidence, however, it is a bit too early to say what arguments the judge has given to reach this conclusion. We have to wait an hour or so.
Dr. Binayak Sen will appeal in the High Court at the earliest.
The other two co-accused Piyush Guha and Narayan Sanyal have also been convicted.
(December 24, 2010)