Indian law affords Binayak Sen one automatic right to appeal, and another at the discretion of the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, given the visible disparity between the quality of allegations against him and the repercussions, the judgment is sure to provoke a national and international outcry. One thousand three hundred and twenty days after he was first arrested, Binayak Sen has been sentenced to life imprisonment for sedition against the Indian...

Activists, intellectuals, students and academicians gathered at Jantar Mantar earlier this week in protest against the life imprisonment sentence pronounced by a Chhattisgarh court for human rights activist Binayak Sen. The protest was organised by the All-India Students' Association, People's Union for Civil Liberties and All-India Progressive Women's Association and several other groups and individuals as part of a nation-wide protest against the “unjust conviction” of Dr. Sen. A large number...

Like doctors and lawyers, teachers may soon be subject to a “code of professional ethics”, which includes clauses for disciplinary action over corporal Punishment, private tuitions and other “anti-community” activities. If accepted by the government, the proposed code would apply to school teachers across the country, from primary to secondary and senior secondary levels, and across government as well as private schools, with the aim of restoring “dignity and integrity” to...

Indian civil society was dismayed and horror-struck when human rights activist Dr Binayak Sen, who has spent over three decades caring for the poor in tribal areas of central India, was sentenced to life imprisonment for ‘sedition’ along with two others, Piyush Guha and Narayan Sanyal by a Raipur Sessions Court judge.  Protests are taking place everywhere in the country and the members of India’s vibrant civil society, peoples’ movements,...

On his visit to the city, activist-turned-central information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi interacted with Right to Information activists. DNA caught up with him to speak about the landmark RTI Act, which recently completed five years. What did you gather from your meeting with the activists? I feel that not many people are getting involved with the Act. There is an increase in usage but the rate has slowed. As far as depth is...