Binayak Sen’s Case:An Analysis

Group 6

Table of Contents

Who is Binayak Sen? Charges on Binayak Sen The Sedition law Who are Naxalite? The Trial so far

• Court’s verdict and logic

• Discrepancies in Verdict

Current Status of the Case

Who is Binayak Sen? Charges on Binayak Sen The Sedition law Who are Naxalite? The Trial so far

• Court’s verdict and logic

• Discrepancies in Verdict

Current Status of the Case

Media Tracking & Analysis

• National media• International media• Online Movement

Media Trial International support Public Opinion

Formation Role of Binayak Sen’s kin

in the case Conclusions

Media Tracking & Analysis

• National media• International media• Online Movement

Media Trial International support Public Opinion

Formation Role of Binayak Sen’s kin

in the case Conclusions

Who is Dr. Binayak Sen?

Dr. Binayak Sen has played multiple roles over the years:academician, paediatrician, public health specialist, human rights activist and now, according to a Chhattisgarh court, a Maoist and a traitor.

He started his academic career at Christian Medical College, Vellore, doing his MBBS and later on, an M.D in Paediatrics.

He then went on to join the Centre for Social Medicine and Community Health at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, one of India's most prestigious universities, as a faculty member.

Who is Dr. Binayak Sen? In the seventies, he joined the Medico Friend Circle, a national

organisation of health workers trying to evolve an alternative health system to cater to economically weak sections of rural India.

He was a member of the state advisory committee which pioneered a community based health worker programme across the state called the Mitanin programme.

He served as the General Secretary of the state Peoples' Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Committee for five years and as Vice President of the National Committee for the three years

Charges against Dr. Sen

On 14 May 2007, Dr Sen was detained for allegedly supporting the outlawed Maoists, thereby violating the provisions of the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005 (CSPSA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967.

He was accused of acting as a courier, passing on letters, between jailed Maoist leader Narayan Sanyal and businessman Piyush Guha, also accused of having links with Naxalites.

Section 124A now reads as follows:“Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representation or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the government established by law in India shall be punished with imprisonment for life to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.”

Sedition law

Explanation-1: The expression “disaffection” includes disloyalty and all feelings of enmity.

Explanation 2: Comments expressing disapprobation of the measures of the government with a view to obtain their alteration by lawful means, without exciting or attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an offence under this section

Explanation 3: Comments expressing disapprobation of the administrative or other action of the government, without exciting or attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an offence under this section.

Sedition law

Who are Naxalite?• Naxal, Naxalite or Naksalvadi is a generic term used to refer to

militant Communist groups operating in different parts of India under different organizational envelopes.

• Mainly in the eastern states of the mainland India : Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa.

• They have been declared as a terrorist organization under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of India (1967)

Who are Naxalite? There is a sense of alienation amongst

them and slowly they are drifting away from the “Indian State”.

Similar movements are being witnessed across the state such as the Bodolandmovement

The important phenomenon emerging from this is that people like Kobad Gandy (graduate from Delhi’s St. Stephen’s) and Binayak Sen are getting drawn into the struggle for the development of these people who have been out-casted from the society.

The trial so far….

May 2007 - Binayak Sen was detained for allegedly supporting the outlawed Naxalites, thereby violating the provisions of the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005 (CSPSA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967.

The evidence presented against him included his meetings with the jailed Naxalite laeader Narayan Sanyal and certain documents allegedly supporting his links with the Naxalites.

Sen had first applied for bail before the Raipur Sessions Court and then the Chhattisgarh High Court in July 2007.

The trial so far….

May 2009 – He was granted bail by the Supreme Court of India only on 25 May 2009.

Dec 2010 - On 24 December 2010, the Raipur Sessions' Court found him guilty of helping the Naxalites, charged him with connections with a banned organization and sentenced him to life term. The conviction was criticized by his supporters as politically motivated and based on bogus evidence.

Jan 2011- Against this judgement, Binayak Sen again applied for bail on 6 Jan 2011.

The trial so far….

Jan 2011- On 25th Jan The Chhattisgarh High Court heard his bail plea for the second consecutive day and then fixed Feb 9 for the nexthearing.

Appearing for Sen, senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani Monday argued for over two hours for grant of bail on 24 Jan 2011, and described the trial court verdict as one based only on police versions. An eight-member delegation of the European Union were present at the court during the entire hearing.

Court’s verdict and logic

The Second Additional Sessions Judge, Raipur B.P. Verma has sentenced Dr. Binayak Sen, Kolkata businessman Pijush Guha and Maoist ideologue Narayan Sanyal for rigorous life imprisonment and shorter prison terms.

To hold the three accused guilty, the judgment had to establish beyond reasonable doubt that:

The accused were either directly indulging in seditious activities as individuals or as members of an organization, or conspiring to abet and further seditious activities of individuals or organizations;

Also, the judgment was to establish beyond reasonable doubt that the accused were either members of organizations notified as unlawful under CSPSA or/ and UAPA, or conspiring to abet and further the activities of such unlawful organizations.

Court’s verdict and logicJudge Verma’s narrative hinges on the following points:

Narayan Sanyal is a member of highest decision making body , Politburo, of CPI(M) a seditious organisation and notified as unlawful under the CSPSA and UAPA.

Journals have been reportedly seized from co-accused Pijush Guha, who has contended that they were planted on him by the police. The judge has unquestioningly accepted the version of the police on the basis of the supposed testimony of the seizure witness Anil Singh, a passer-by, who was called in as a ‘witness’ by the police at the time of Guha’s arrest who claimed to ‘overhear’ a conversation between Guha and the police in a situation where the police had Guha in their custody.

Court’s verdict and logic

The central point around which the verdict’s narrative is woven is the arrest and seizure of certain articles. This supposedly establishes a chain binding the three in a conspiratorial relationship.

According to this supposed conspiratorial chain, Narayan Sanyal is a leader of a seditious organization also notified as unlawful and as such banned.

Binayak Sen had conspired with Sanyal to pass on his letters to his party comrades through Guha, thus both Sen and Guha assisted in the activities of a seditious and unlawful organization.

Discrepancies in the verdict..

The Judge has relied on evidence of Police officers only and the witness Anil Singh, whose version was contested by Guha however it was ignored by the Judge.

The statement by Guha regarding his illegal custody before being presented in front of the Magistrate on 7th of May, 2007 was ignored by the Judge.

The Judge has also ignored the contradiction between the police affidavit filed before the Supreme Court while opposing the bail application of Binayak Sen and the police version presented in the charge sheet filed in the sessions court.

Discrepancies in the verdict

In the Judge’s narrative : a certain plan letter which is supposedly written by the central committee of CPI(maoist) to Binayak Sen was seized at his house.

This letter which is not signed by Sen, was not part of the copy charge sheet received by sen in court. But the Judge has completely overlooked this obvious planting of evidence, accepting the ridiculous explanation provided by investigating officers .

Current Status

A court in Chhattisgarh has rejected the bail application of Dr Binayak Sen on Feb 10,2011.

Ilina Sen stated that she would file a ’Special Lead Petition’ in the Supreme Court

The verdict has outraged the civil liberties activists in India and abroad.

40 Nobel laureates have sent a letter to the Indian government urging it to ensure that Dr Sen is given a fair trial, and asking for him to be released on bail.

Stakeholders

• State Govt.• Central Govt.• Media (international & national)• International Organisations• NGOs • Public

State Government

The state govt. of Chhattisgarh at beginning stuck to its decision and claimed it right but later on after the hype they decided to stay calm and not to speak anything on the matter as the case is in supreme court now.

Central Government The central govt. has not taken an aggressive step on the matter

as law minister Virappa Moily in an interview to frontline stated four times that the matter is in supreme court now and they are waiting for their verdict on the case so it would be too early for them to say anything.

We see that the central has chosen to say anything on the issue as it is very sensitive because if they say in favor of Dr.Sen that would go against the session court and may seem to more of as political agenda against BJP as well and if they go against it would attract NGO’s on them.

Media Tracking & Analysis

English Dailies• Hindu• Times of India• Hindustan times

Hindi DailyDainik Bhaskar

Magazines• Frontline• Outlook

News Channel• NDTV

Media Tracking

The Hindu Krishna Iyer’s plea on behalf of Binayak Sen [ Sunday, Apr 19, 2009]

The text of a letter written by Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, former Supreme Court Judge, to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, dated April 17, 2009 .

Set Binayak Sen free now (Opinion, Siddharth Varadarajan) [Monday, Apr 27, 2009]

Life term for Binayak Sen [Saturday, Dec 25, 2010]

Binayak Sen : Farce in CourtEditorial: Posted at December 16, 2010

Lawyers, activists shocked by Binayak Sen VerdictRaipur, December 24, 2010. Aman Sethi

The Hindu A shocking verdict

Editorial December 25, 2010

Jethmalani kicks off Binayak Sen's defence [ January 24, 2011]

Nobel laureates rally behind Binayak Sen [February 9, 2011 ]

Seized documents play key role in Binayak Sen Judgment [February 14, 2011 ]

Quotes from The Hindu

“The life sentence …. so over the top and outrageous that it calls into question the fundamentals of the Indian justice system”

“While politicians, film stars, gangsters and businessmen accused or convicted of heinous offences like manslaughter …. the gentle doctor is considered such a dangerous criminal that he has been held in jail for two years on a far less serious charge”

“Far from heeding the apex court’s warning, the BJP, in its election manifesto, has promised “the ‘Chhattisgarh Model’ will be used for counter-Maoist operations” elsewhere in the country.”

“This was all too evident in its farcical attempt to link him to the Inter-Services Intelligence through an email correspondence between his wife and a person by the name of “Fernandes” in “ISI.””

The Hindu: Analysis Following Hindu's opinion on Binayak Sen from 2009 onwards we can see the

strong stand the news paper has taken to help the celebrated physician and human rights activist get justice.

It brings into light interesting points in the case and information, like the baseless pakistan supporting allegations made on Binayak Sen because his wife received an email from the ISI, which he explained actually stood for Indian Social Institute.

By quoting the pioneers of varied fields, the Hindu has showcased the shocked sections of society towards Dr Binayak Sen’s conviction, and the severity of his sentence. The Hindu has also got in light the misery of his family and the obvious lawless state of affairs in Chhattisgarh.

The HINDU has prompted widespread concern from rights groups, the media, academics, and medical colleagues in India and internationally

They criticized the BJP’s adoption of the “Chattisgarh Model” in its election manifesto

Times Of India Dr Binayak Sen found guilty of sedition, gets life imprisonment

PTI, Dec 24, 2010

Who is Dr Binayak Sen?TNN, Dec 24, 2010

Binayak Sen case timelineIANS, Dec 24, 2010

Order on Binayak Sen's bail plea tomorrowTNN, Feb 9, 2011

Chhattisgarh HC rejects Binayak Sen's bail pleaTNN, Feb 10, 2011

Quotes from TOI

“What is Section 124A, asked the 58-year-old paediatrician,once session court judge B P Varma finished reading out a brief judgment to a packed courtroom,listing out the sections of law under which he had been found guilty.The judge replied: Rajdroh or sedition.Within minutes,the celebrated doctor-activist was thrust out of the room by policemen,bundled into a van,and driven away to jail.”

“The right to bail is a democratic right of every accused. To argue against bail without giving any reasonable explanation is to deny a citizen his basic rights. No wonder the apex court gave Sen unconditional bail without even waiting for the lawyers to make submissions.”

The TOI has taken a neutral stance. The article published talks about the case and its history. There hasn’t been any strong headlines in their newspaper that we have seen before which provokes the public

They have been very dramatic in their portayal of the issue, narrating it like a court-room drama with captions like “Traitor or Angel?”

In the editorial pages it has only been mentioned alongside articles on civil rights, etc. They haven’t made much ado about the cause

Times Of India: Analysis

Dainik Bhaskar• बनायक न सल ग त व धय म ल , नह ं होगी जमानत : हाईकोट

[11.2.2011]

• बनायक सेन पर फैसला आज [10.2.2011]

• बनायक सेन पर सुनवाईक अगल तार ख 9 फरवर [26.1.2011]

• डॉ. बनायक सेन को सजा स वल लबट पर हम [29.12.2010]

• बनायक सेन मामले म हाईकोट ने मांगे रकॉ [8.1.2011]

It has been reporting very carefully on this issue, by not taking any side.

However in the article on 10th feb 2011 it seemed to be in favor of courts verdict, while in other issues it had been clearly just reporting about the event but not giving any opinion on it.

Dainik Bhaskar: Analysis

Ndtv 24 X7Recent Coverage Bucks Stop Here: Dr Sen is an international hero or a Maoist supporter. [Feb 10,

2011]This is on the denial of bail by the Chhattisgarh High Court judges.Why he evokes such sharp and different reactions. Is he made an example on how judicial system response is unfair. Also is it correct to internationalize the debate around him.

We the People: Targeted by the state [Dec 27, 2010]Discussion on the life term for civil rights activist Dr Binayak Sen and how

should democracy respond to sedition. Is he an internationally respected doctor working for poor tribal of

Chhattisgarh or as the Chhattisgarh ‘s court says, a sympathizer of Maoist insurgency. Program went beyond this case and talks about the contentious issue of sedition and what place does it has on democracy especially a Liberal democracy like India.

Ndtv 24 X7Recent Coverage The Big Fight: The Campaign for Dr. Binayak Sen [Dec 27, 2010]

While politicians - accused of corruption - roam freely, has the judgement been too harsh on civil rights activist Dr Binayak Sen.Talks about the statement signed by eminent individuals regarding the

verdict and the growing support towards Dr. Binayak Sen.

Overtime there have been news coverage on the case whenever there has been any updates on the case.

Frontline: Issue - Jan 28, 2011

Prisoner of Conscience Barefoot Doctor Sen and Geelani Trumped up charges

Frontline: Analysis They are very supportive towards Binayak Sen and all the articles

talk about the ‘travesty of justice’ and how he should be treated with more respect as a political prisoner and not as a criminal or murder.

There is a huge support given to Binayak sen and flaws in the judgment taken have been analyzed in details. Also many questions have been raised on the process/way the case went in regards to the evidences, witnesses etc.

They have also given a deeper understanding about the ‘The Sedition Law’ and how its archaic & violates the fundamental law of freedom of speech and expression.

Outlook: Issue - Jan 17, 2011

“Binayak Sen- Middle class icon”Support for Binayak Sen, hailing him as not just a person but a symbol.

International Media

Reuters Court jails Binayak Sen for life for helping Maoists [Fri, Dec 24

2010]

Binayak Sen appeals life sentence [ Fri, Jan 7 2011]

CNN Human Rights group slams life sentence for Indian

doctor [ Dec 25, 2010]

Online Movement Various sites like

www.freebinayaksen.orgwww.binayaksen.net

Social Networking Sites• Facebook • Twitter• Orkut

In Facebook : Binayak sen solidarity Forum, Binayak Sen for Democracy ,Free Binayak Sen – Global Campaign

Overall Media Analysis

In the beginning, there was no real sympathy for Binayak Sen.

It was during the campaign for his bail (granted in May, 2009) that people got to know about him and his work.

Earlier media repeatedly showed him as rather fierce looking with long flowing beard. Now the beard has gone and the image is of a clean shaven doctor. (power of media imagery)

From a Maoist sympathizer, he has become a benevolent doctor.

Overall Media Analysis

Face book is brimming over with thousands of young supporters calling for his release.

This also brings about a sea change in the way mainstream media sees social activism.

Kanchan Gupta (pro-BJP Pioneer) is one of the few commentators who has termed it as a “fair trial”.

Rest of the media has been largely supportive of Dr Sen and questioned the policies of the government in tackling the issue of Naxalism as a whole.

Amnesty International Role

They describe Binayak Sen as a prisoner of conscience and flayed his conviction by a court saying it violated international standards of fair trial.

They appealed to the Indian government to revoke the charges against him and set him free immediately.

Amnesty international’s ASIA Pacific Director Sam Zarifi said “Life in prison is an unusually harsh sentence for anyone ,much less for an internationally recognized human rights defender who has never been charged with any act of violence”.

“this sentence will seriously intimidate other human rights defenders who would provide a peaceful outlet for the peoples grievances ,especially for the indigenous Adivasi population”

International support

Twenty two Nobel laureates from different countries have issued spirited statements of protest against the continued detention of Sen.

International medical journals, including The Lancet and the British Medical Journal, have written strong editorials deploring his detention in Raipur, capital of the Central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.

The British House of Commons issued a motion.

Doctors, academics and human rights campaigners in Scotland gathered on Thursday 29 May 2008 outside St. John’s Church, Edinburgh for a vigil demanding the immediate release of Sen.

Several Nobel laureates and well-known public health campaigner Dr Wendy Savage, Noam Chomsky, Aruna Roy, and Amartya Sen have supported him.

Around 150 academicians from UK wrote to the Guardian to make an appeal to free him.

International support

Public Opinion formation• Facebook:

Hundreds of pages and groups are active onfacebook and other social networking sites with thousands of people taking part in the discussions and forums campaigning to free Binayak sen.

• Middle class is not particularly supportive of radical thinkers, writers and activists but support for Dr Sen has been phenomenal.

India has never before witnessed such mobilisation of international and national support for a person imprisoned within its borders.

Solidarity in the cause of securing his release has acquired thedimensions of a mass movement, with hundreds of people demonstrating or courting arrest in several cities across the globe every Monday.

Health professionals, academics, human rights activists, artists, writers and film-makers have weighed in for Dr Sen’s release.

Public Opinion formation

While on bail he delivers lectures across colleges- Asian College of Journalism, St. Stephen’s.

“It is Binayak Sen’s work as a doctor that gave him legitimacy an activist or a writer can never have”, Ashish Nandy.

People Tree has launched t-shirts in support of him.

Public Opinion formation

“Sen’s imprisonment symptomatic of a system in which all dissent is denied”-Aruna Roy (social activist and national advisory council member ) sourced from the Hindu.

JAN 30 2011 was a day marked by rallies across the country and in some cities in North America and the UK to protest the life imprisonment sentence awarded to SEN .

Civil Rights Organizations and left parties on Friday Dec 31 2010,demanding a review of sedition law ,repeal of the controversial CHHATISAGARH special public security act ,and unconditional release of Binayak Sen , who was sentenced to life a trial court on the charges of sedition for ‘helping the Maoists’. (INDIAN EXPRESS JAN 1’2011)

Public Opinion formation

"We are against violence in any form, whether it comes from the state or the Naxals. But the moment we criticise state-sponsored violence, we are called pro-Naxals. The government wants us to keep mum, but that won't happen," said Kamayani Mahabal, a mumbai based advocate. "Now we will work with more gusto. Government ki waat laga denge,"

"We are against violence in any form, whether it comes from the state or the Naxals. But the moment we criticise state-sponsored violence, we are called pro-Naxals. The government wants us to keep mum, but that won't happen," said Kamayani Mahabal, a mumbai based advocate. "Now we will work with more gusto. Government ki waat laga denge,"

“If Binayak Sen is guilty of sedition, so are we”

“If Binayak Sen is guilty of sedition, so are we”

“Not only should Dr Sen be released immediately from imprisonment and charges withdrawn, there needs to be a thorough inquiry against all those who have framed him so maliciously. We also demand adequate compensation to Dr Sen for being deprived of his basic freedoms and his family for being subjected to the most inhumane mental torture

and persecution.” in a petition to the President

“Not only should Dr Sen be released immediately from imprisonment and charges withdrawn, there needs to be a thorough inquiry against all those who have framed him so maliciously. We also demand adequate compensation to Dr Sen for being deprived of his basic freedoms and his family for being subjected to the most inhumane mental torture

and persecution.” in a petition to the President

Justice Saldanha says, “ It is not a judgment but an atrocity of the worst order.”

Veerabhadra Chennamalla Swamiji, from Nedumamudi Mutt, says, “Its an undemocratic judgment, and it is an assault on justice”.

From Popular Front of India, Usman Baig says, “Judiciary is also becoming fascist like the executive and legislature.”

Advocate Balan, from AITUC, says, “This is judicial terrorism”

U.R Ananthmurthy says, “Dr. Binayak Sen represents me too”

Vox Pop

Role of Binayak Sen’s Wife: Ilina Sen

As per Ilina Sen the verdict was “expected ashe’s been targeted for years”

“Not a single piece of evidence came up to support this kind of conviction –sedition and conspiracy against the state .I hope justice will prevail”- Ilina Sen

Along with her daughters, Illina has been a continious support for Sen, fighting the battle bravely.

Role of Binayak Sen’s Mother: Anasuya Sen

“Fight is not against an individual but injustice", said 84 year old Anasuya sen .she took part in rallies sin Kolkata (Jan 30,2011)demandingimmediate unconditional release of her son .

“What else can one call it but anarchy ,that the state would convict a person for sedition when he has worked for its people for 30 years”-Anasuya sen

She joined the rally because she wanted to prove that she could fight as a mother ,so that no prison could hold back any son illegally .

Public Opinion In Democracy Public opinion is a barometer of any democracy. Cases such as Jessica Lal murder case and the recent

Egyptian uprising are a testimony to this fact.

Walter Lippmann Walter Lippmann (1889-1974) was the most influential American

journalist of the 20th century.

It was Lippmann who first identified the tendency of journalists to generalize about other people based on fixed ideas.

He argued that people—are more apt to believe "the pictures in their heads" than come to judgment by critical thinking.

" Citizens, he wrote, were too self- centered to care about public policy except as pertaining to pressing local issues.

Walter Lippmann

From Lippmann’s theory we must also be wary of the dangers of Media Trial. Most of the public does not care to investigate too much into public policy and will form opinions based on what themedia says. In such a case is it ethical for a newspaper to call a trial an out-and-out fraud or is THAT irresponsible journalism?

Jurgen Habermas Jürgen Habermas (1929) is a German sociologist and philosopher.

The public sphere was a concept developed by him.

According to him it is a space that is entirely separate from the state in which a separate discourse can develop that rejects the messages fed down ‘from above’.

Habermas ultimately predicted the demise of the public sphere as the media became a tool of the state and was used to carry advertisement, rather than a source of news.

Alternatively, in cases like TOI and Dainik Bhaskar, the news has been dramatized for the sake of readership, and little criticisms made of the government as Habermas predicted

Conclusion The trial shows the symbiotic relationship between public opinion

formation and media content in the 21st century It was during the campaign for his bail that websites, etc. were formed for

the cause which fueled public interest that translated into the mainstream media.

Then mainstream media coverage (like in the Hindu) increased awareness about the issue again furthering the cause

Thus we see new media becoming increasingly important today as an unbiased voice and harbringer of change (like in the case of Egypt)

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