Doctors and Dictators: Who jailed Binayak Sen?

The good doctor is modern India's historic victim of organised injustice and State terror driven by big profit and the poison of communal politics

Dunu Roy Delhi

In his evocative essay ‘Dr Binayak Sen, My Brother, My Hero', (Hardnews, September 2008) Dipankar Sen wonders towards the end, "Now that we are convinced that his imprisonment is based on false and trumped up charges, we will want to know who would want to inflict such a fate on this man and above all why? Then we could have a possible basis and a clue to engage in a sensible dialogue with them to secure his release."

Who has imprisoned Dr Binayak Sen? The answer seems fairly direct: It is the state government of Chhattisgarh acting through its loyal and dedicated servants, including the higher officials in the police, the public prosecutors office, and the associated branches of the executive and judiciary. Why has he been imprisoned? The charges against him, under Sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967, Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005, and the Indian Penal Code, are that he is a member of an unlawful association, gang, or organisation, gives support and aid to and solicits contributions for such organisation, and is guilty of sedition and waging war against the State.

Does the evidence support these charges? Dr Sen was arrested in mid-May 2007 and the first hearing on his bail application took place shortly thereafter. The Sessions Court rejected the bail, saying that there was reason to believe that Dr Sen was acquainted with individuals associated with Naxalite (or Maoist) organisations - even though these individuals were not charged under the relevant Acts at that time. When his bail application came up for hearing in the Chhattisgarh High Court in late July, the judge again denied bail because he was convinced by the prosecution's arguments that Dr Sen had been frequently meeting a prisoner in the jail who was alleged to be a Naxalite and carrying secret letters from him, and there were no provisions for grant of bail in the sections under which he had been charged. 

Five months later, in December 2007, the bail application came before the Supreme Court, where it was dismissed without giving any reason. Thus, the opposing arguments by the defence that Dr Sen had been meeting the alleged Naxalite prisoner with the permission of the jail authorities and in his capacity as the vice president of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL); that there was no evidence to suggest he was a member of an unlawful organisation or even supporting one; that he could not be charged on the basis of statements made to the police by persons in the custody of the police; that none of the material seized from his house had been proven as prima facie evidence against him: were all repeatedly disregarded by the courts.

Hence, even after knowing who has formally imprisoned Dr Sen and why, the expectation of a "sensible dialogue" to secure his release has not materialised. In other words, there is probably more to this whole series of incidents than meets the eye.