Raipur, Dec. 24: Civil rights activist Binayak Sen was on Friday sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of sedition by a Raipur court along with Naxal ideologue Narayan Sanyal and Kolkata-based businessman Pijush Guha. They were charged with treason for aiding and abetting Maoist insurgency in Chhattisgarh.
The additional district and sessions judge, Mr K.P. Verma, pronounced the verdict in a jampacked court room here, holding them guilty under Sections 124 A (sedition) and 120 B (conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and various sections of the Chhattisgarh Public Security Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Sen, 60, was present in court along with Sanyal, 70, and Guha, 35, when the court delivered the verdict.
Sen sobbed after hearing the judgement.“There is no suggestion of warlike activity anywhere in the judgement copy,” Sen told reporters while being taken in a police van along with Sanyal and Guha to send them to jail after the verdict.
His wife, Ms Illena Sen, who, along with her two daughters, was waiting outside the court, expressed shock and dismay.