JOIN US"I must confess that this is one of those cases in which I am personally happy about what has happened. Normally, win or loss means nothing to me but I am very happy in this matter," Jethmalani told reporters here.
"It almost establishes a matter of great principle that in a democracy everybody has the right to exercise his right to freedom of speech, and Binayak Sen has not indulged in any kind of violence nor has he ever pleaded with anybody that you must resort to violence," he added.
No case for sedition was made out against Sen, the apex court bench of Justice H.S. Bedi and Justice C.K. Prasad said while granting him bail. The bench made a scathing observation that a person does not become a Gandhian just because he is found with a biography of Mahatma Gandhi.
The bench said the bail would be subject to the satisfaction of the trial court. The court ridiculed the state's submission that Sen was actively involved in spreading disharmony and disaffection against the state.
Sen, 61, at present is in a jail in the Chhattisgarh capital Raipur, and challenged the Feb 10 order of the Chhattisgarh High Court that rejected his bail plea.
He was sentenced by the trial court Dec 24, 2010, for sedition. He was also accused of acting as a courier between Maoist ideologue Narayan Sanyal and Kolkata-based businessman Piyush Guha, both of whom have also been jailed for life.
On the court's observation that a case of sedition is not made against Sen, Jethmalani said: "This is an encouraging observation and I am one with it. It is my submission to the court".
"But please bear in mind that this is not the the judgment of court. Final judgment must be waited for and I am quite sure that this judgment of Supreme Court will ensure that the high court will also come up to the level which is required of our judicial officers," Jethmalani added.