New Delhi: Hailing the Supreme Court's decision to grant bail to civil rights activist Binayak Sen, the CPI on Saturday demanded drastic amendments to the sedition law and review of all such cases by state governments to ensure that innocents are not put behind bars on similar charges.
Welcoming the Supreme Court's observation that no sedition case was made out against Sen, the party Central Secretariat said it was "a slap on BJP's Chhattisgarh Government that continues to violate human rights in the garb of fighting Naxal menace".
It said a large number of CPI cadres continued to remain in Chhattisgarh jails due to "this policy of BJP Government".
The Supreme Court verdict in Sen's case "emphasises the need to urgently review the Sedition Law and amend it drastically. The Union Government should impress upon the state governments to review all the cases in which innocent people have been put behind bars by framing up cases of sedition and other such crimes," the CPI demanded.
Welcoming the apex court's decision, trade union body NTUI said it had thrown up questions regarding the "attitude" of the Chattisgarh government.
"The procedure followed in establishing the case against Sen has shown the arrogance of the state machinery, secure in the belief that it cannot be held accountable for its actions, and has the unchallenged right to take away the liberty of any person it holds as opposed to it," the New Trade Union Initiative (NTUI) said in a statement.
It said the apex court's judgment "contributes to the questioning of the notion of sedition as it is defined today within the framework of the internal security doctrine of the Government".
PTI
First Published: Saturday, April 16, 2011, 23:22