Supreme Court grants bail to Binayak Sen

The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to human rights activist Binayak Sen.

The apex court said it found the evidence against Sen weak and told the prosecution to seek the conditions of bail from the lower court in Chhattisgarh.

"We are a democratic country. He may be a sympathiser (of Naxalites) but it did not make him guilty of sedition," the bench comprising Justices HS Bedi and CK Prasad was quoted by the media as saying.

The bench further said that the state government's contention that Sen was in the possession of banned material and was involved in its circulation did not justify the charge of sedition.

In December last year, a Raipur Additional District and Sessions Court held Sen guilty of sedition and conspiracy against the state.

Sen was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment, sparking outrage among rights activists in India and across the world.

Sen, however, challenged the order and sought bail contending that the trial court had convicted him without substantial evidence.

As the state General Secretary and national Vice President of the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties, Sen remains one of the most prominent civil rights defenders in the country. An alumnus of the Vellore Christian Medical College of Tamil Nadu, Sen worked for over 30 years to bring healthcare to Chhattisgarh's tribal populations.