New Delhi: Hours after the Supreme Court
granted bail to Binayak Sen convicted for helping Naxalites,
Law Minister M Veerappa Moily on Friday dubbed sedition laws as
"outdated" and said he would ask the Law Commission to study
the issue.
Reacting to bail granted to the rights activist by the
apex court, Moily said he would soon consult Home Minister P
Chidambaram and after he agrees, the matter could be refered
to the Law Commission to study whether there was need for
change in sedition laws.
"I will consult the Home Minister and after that the
Law Commission could be asked to revisit laws relating to
sedition," Moily told agency.
He said bail to Sen also reflected upon the
investigations carried out by Chhattisgarh Police. He said
there has been debate that sedition laws do not reflect on the
democratic aspirations of the country and the spirit of
Constitution.
Granting bail to Sen, the apex court said "we are a
democratic country. He may be a sympathiser (of Naxalites) but
it did not make him guilty of sedition.
"He is a sympathiser. Nothing beyond that," the bench
further said, perusing the affidavit filed by the Chhattisgarh
government opposing his bail.
PTI
First Published: Friday, April 15, 2011, 19:04