Prominent lawyer Ram Jethmalani on Tuesday offered to defend rights activist Binayak Sen, who was sentenced by a trial court to life imprisonment for sedition, in a higher judiciary. He also said he did not find it contradictory to fight the case and be a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP at the same time.
“No party line says that lawyers should not appear for some people,” Mr. Jethmalani said. He said if Dr. Sen sought his professional assistance, “I will do it for him. I will be very happy to fight for him.”
Mr. Jethmalani said he cannot criticise the Chhattisgarh court order as he had not seen the judgment. “But personally, I think the case is weak. I think he has been wrongly convicted.”
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The former Chief Justice, A.M. Ahmadi, said he was “taken aback” by the judgment.
Mr. Ahmadi said carrying letters and handing it over to somebody else was not a strong ground to convict someone.
The former Chief Justice, V.N. Khare, has said the State has to prove to the hilt that the person who it has got hold of is guilty. “In case evidence is fragile and not sustainable, then the High Court will have to answer,” he said.
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