I/IV. http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/sen-conviction-a-case-of-no-evidence-jethmalani-tells-court_100492718.html
Sen conviction ‘a case of no evidence’, Jethmalani tells court Mon Jan 24 2011 19:47:43 GMT+0530 (India Standard Time) by IANS Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh), Jan 24 (IANS) Senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani made strong arguments Monday for more than two hours in Chhattisgarh High Court here and did his best to highlight alleged loopholes of the trial court verdict that awarded rights activist Binayak Sen life term on sedition charges.Jethmalani told a division bench of Justice T.P. Sharma and Justice R.L. Jhanwar that the Binayak Sen conviction “is a case of no evidence,” referring to the Raipur sessions court’s Dec 24 verdict. He argued that the trial court had simply relied on the police version for the conviction as the evidences produced by the prosecution were not sufficient for such a conviction. Pressing for bail of Sen, Jethmalani pointed out that the 60-year-old right activist was not a member of either any banned organisation or had participated in illegal or unlawful activities. The veteran lawyer stressed that there was no material on record to prove that Binayak Sen had committed any offence that comes under the purview of sedition. “Sen does not deny that he knows Narayan Sanyal. He did not interfere when the police searched his house in Raipur. This is the conduct of an honest man willing to face the consequences,” Jethmalani argued. He added: “The seizures from Sen’s residence were some innocuous literature dealing with some ills which the PUCL (People’s Union for Civil Liberties) has been fighting for.” Referring to Sen’s conviction on the charges of sedition, Jethmalani argued that the charges under section 124 A (sedition)of the Indian penal Code cannot be sustained at all due to manifold reasons. “Sen did not commit sedition either in words, written or in any other manner to spread hatred against the government established by law. Besides, not a single document seized qualifies to be linked with sedition charges,” he said. Jethmalani also pointed out that the three undated letters seized from Kolkata-based businessman Piyush Guha are “no evidence” under the law. He said Sen, an active PUCL member, had been raising the issues related to human rights and police atrocities in the tribal areas. Referring to Sen’s conviction under the provisions of the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005, Jethmalani said the PUCL petition challenging the constitutional validity of the Act, itself was pending for consideration before the high court. He said the provisions in the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act have no sufficient safeguards against its possible misuse as like in the central legislation of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The high court will continue to hear Sen’s bail appeal Tuesday as the arguments remained inconclusive. While Jethmalani concluded his nearly two-and-a-half hour arguments, another defence counsel Surendra Singh is expected to continue the arguments Tuesday. II. http://www.indianexpress.com/news/hc-allows-eu-team-to-attend-binayak-sen-case-proceedings/741682/ HC allows EU team to attend Binayak Sen case proceedings Posted: Mon Jan 24 2011, 17:42 hrs Bilaspur: A European Union delegation on Monday watched the proceedings of the Chhattisgarh High Court hearing the appeal of rights activist Dr Binayak Sen against conviction and life sentence by the trial court on the charges of sedition last month. The eight member delegation, comprising Peter Kimpian (Hungary), Raphael Martian De Lagarde (France) Alexandra Berg von Linde (Sweden), Florian Burkhardt (Germany), Jochen Anthierens (Belgium), Iain Twigg (UK), Louise de Brass (Denmark) and Anne Vaugier-Chatterjee (EU), arrived at the high court around noon. Police sources said the members of the delegation were keen to watch the proceedings of the hearing on Dr Sen’s appeal. “We informed the competent authorities of the high court and with due permission they were allowed inside the court premises”, they added. All the foreign delegates were present in the jam-packed court room during the hearing when defence counsel Ram Jethmalani argued the case. Ads by Google Job Vacancies in TCS Exp: 0 to 13 Yrs.Sal: 25k to 95k PM Apply Now & get Multiple Interviews TimesJobs.com/TCS www.flipkart.com/Mobiles Largest Range. Lowest Prices Free Home Delivery: All India www.flipkart.com/Mob IFRS Course from KPMG 13 Weeks Advance Cert. Progarm for Finance Professionals. Enroll Today program.niitimperia. A group of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) workers took out a protest demonstration raising slogans against EU delegation’s observer mission , describing it as an interference in the functioning of independent judiciary. Besides, they had also raised slogans against BJP Rajya Sabha member Ram Jethmalani for agreeing to defending Dr Binayak Sen, who has been convicted for allegedly acting as a conduit for the Maoists. Earlier reports said the EU delegation in India had sought assistance in “facilitating an observer mission” to attend the hearing on appeal by Dr Binayak Sen in the high court at Bilaspur. The move had sparked protests from the ruling BJP in Chhattisgarh with its state president Ram Sewak Paikra describing it as an undue interference in the judicial functioning. A group of ABVP workers had showed black flags when the delegation arrived at the Mana airport in Raipur late Sunday night. III. http://news.oneindia.in/2011/01/24/prasadflays-centre-on-permitting-eu-team-in-binayak-sencas-aid0126.html Prasad flays Centre on permitting EU team in Binayak Sen case Monday, January 24, 2011, 20:00 [IST] New Delhi, Jan 24 (PTI) Senior advocate and BJP leaderRavi Shankar Prasad today criticised the Centre forentertaining the plea of an European human rights delegationto witness bail proceedings of prominent civil rights activistBinayak Sen in the Chattisgarh High Court. Buzz up! Terming the decision as "unfortunate" and "lack ofinherent trust in the country''s judicial system," Prasadregretted that the Centre did not protest against the request. "It is unfortunate that the government of India and theMinistry of External Affairs has not protested. It involves alarger issue. The decision of the central government to aninternational body in a pending case shows lack of inherenttrust in the country''s strongest judicial system," he toldreporters here. 61-year-old Sen, a paediatrician by profession, wasconvicted by a Chhattisgarh court for sedition and sentencedto life along with Naxal ideologue Narayan Sanyal and Kolkatabusinessman Piyush Guha. His bail petition, which came up for hearing today inthe high court, has been adjourned till Tuesday. Incidentally, eminent lawyer and BJP MP Ram Jethmalanihas announced that he would appear for Sen free of cost. Prasad said the government did not reject the EUdelegation''s plea and had instead referred the request to thestate which in turn had forwarded the same to the High Court. The High Court had earlier in the day permitted thedelegation to witness the proceedings. "It is surprising that the government did not lodge aprotest. What is the purpose of monitoring the courtproceedings? Our judicial system is one of the best in theworld. The PIL jurisdiction of our courts is the biggestcontribution to the world," he said. According to the EU, it had earlier informed the MEAthat it intended to send representatives from its Delhi-basedmissions of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, France, Hungary,Sweden, the UK, and the EU, to attend the court hearing. PTIRB IV. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/EU-observers-for-Sens-bail-hearing-face-protests/articleshow/7349925.cms EU observers for Sen's bail hearing face protests PTI, Jan 24, 2011, 12.36am IST RAIPUR: An eight-member team of European Union, which arrived here on Sunday night to witness Human rights activist Binayak Sen's bail hearing tomorrow, faced protests from lawyers and ABVP workers who showed EU representatives black flags and shouted slogans against them. The team that arrived at the airport with eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani, a BJP MP, faced protests from members of bar council and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, who shouted "European Union go back" and alleged the 27-member body of influencing judicial process in India. "EU representatives come as observers but try to influence judicial process in India. We will not tolerate this," a protester said. Jethmalani refused to comment on the protests. The European Union delegation include representatives of Delhi based diplomatic missions from Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Sweden and the UK. The hearing is scheduled to take place at the Chhattisgarh high court in Bilaspur on Monday. The bail plea comes exactly after one month of Binayak's conviction for sedition, and sentencing to life. Civil rights activists have been demanding his release. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. 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