Rights activist Binayak Sen on Sunday claimed that he had to cancel his visit to Kathmandu at the last moment following a Chattisgarh court directive.
Mr Sen was scheduled to visit Nepal to attend an international seminar organised by the United Nations.
The seminar “Health Care in Conflict Areas” was scheduled to take place on July 6 and 7 and he was prepared to catch a flight to the Nepalese capital on July 5 from Delhi.
Binayak Sen, who is also a physician, said, “While I was in Delhi Airport to avail a flight for Kathmandu, my advocate S.K. Farhan informed me that the court had denied permission to go to Nepal as it assumed that my appearance in Nepal will be harmful for the state. I did not anticipate that the permission would be denied.”
Anand Grover, senior advocate in the Supreme Court-cum UN’s Special Repertoire on the “Right to Health on Conflict areas” had invited Binayak Sen on behalf of UN to participate in the international seminar in Nepal.
Mr Grover too was in Delhi airport on July 5 as both were scheduled to go to Nepal by the same flight, Mr Sen said. He said he had applied for the permission to attend the seminar to Raipur court towards the end of June, 2013.