Nobel laureates appeal for Sen; will he get bail?

New Delhi: Social rights activist Dr Binayak Sen's bail plea is likely to come up for hearing in the Chhattisgarh High Court on Wednesday.

40 Nobel laureates from 12 countries have issued an appeal on Dr Binayak Sen's behalf- saying that he must be granted bail.

Vekatraman Ramakrishnana has also signed the joint statement.

Amartya Sen said that he is not in favour of signing the joint appeal but he had independently taken a strong stand against the trial court judgment.

The prosecution is likely to appeal against the bail application. It believes there is a strong case against Sen.

Sen was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Sessions Court in Raipur in December after he was found guilty of sedition.

Protests were held by students groups to activists to even artists as a the rection to the Raipur sessions court judgement senetencing Binayak Sen and two others to life imprisonment on charges of sedition.

The judgement was controversial and defending Dr Sen against the case filed By the BJP's Chattisgarh Government is the BJP MP and eminent jurist Ram Jethmalani.

"Someone wants to see Binayak Sen damned. The prosecution is ill-advised. It is a scandalous judgement," he said.

The case of Dr Binayak Sen - peadiatrecian by profession and human rights activist by choice - has often evoked strong reactions.

The chattisgargh police arrested him in May 2007 under Chattisgarh's tough Special public security act.

While the government claims Dr Sen is a Maoist conduit and will be tried as per the law others disagree and say he's been victimised.

The trial even has an EU delegations following the develpments and the protests have only grown outside the court room.

Meanwhile, Dr Sen's wife Iilina Sen has also been forced to fight an FIR which alleges that she failed to inform authorities of the participation of foreigners in a conference. Even the home ministry was forced to promise that the FIR would be withdrawn.

The battle lines are drawn. Prosecution is convinced that it has a strong case on its hands. And if it cannot avoid giving bail, it can delay the process for as long as possible.

(With inputs from Rupashree Nanda)