May 8, 2012 12:46:22 am
The Supreme Court on Monday suspended the life sentence of CPI (Maoist) activist Narayan Sanyal,held guilty of committing sedition by a Chhattisgarh court in 2010,and granted bail to him.
The court granted bail to 78-year-old Sanyal considering his age and the fact that he has already spent more than six years in prision since his arrest in 2006.
A Bench of Justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhyaya left it to the trial court concerned to impose any conditions for bail on Sanyal.
Sanyal was convicted along with Peoples Union of Civil Liberties vice-president Binayak Sen and a Kolkata businessman,Piyush Guha,for colluding with the Maoists in expanding their network to fight the state.
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Sen was granted bail and his sentence was suspended by the Supreme Court on April 15 last year.
They were held guilty by a Raipur court on December 24,2010 of committing sedition and criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code as well as offences under the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act.
The three were also found guilty under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention (UAP) Act and sentenced to five years jail. Sanyal was awarded 10 years imprisonment for being member of a terrorist outfit,in violation of the UAP Act.
All three had moved the Chhattisgarh High Court against their conviction. Their appeals are still pending there.
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