Observing that mere possession of materials eulogising Maoist ideologies could not be considered sedition, the Supreme Court on May 31 granted bail to Kolkata-based businessman Piyush Guha, co-accused with rights activist Binayak Sen in the sedition case, and sentenced to life imprisonment. A vacation Bench of Justices G.S. Singhvi and C.K. Prasad, after hearing counsel Prashant Bhushan for the petitioner and senior counsel U.U. Lalit for the Chhattisgarh government, suspended the sentence and directed Mr. Guha’s release on bail upon his executing of a bail bond for Rs. 2 lakh with two sureties of Rs.1 lakh each.
Mr. Guha was convicted along with Dr. Sen and Naxal ideologue Narayan Sanyal. Dr. Sen was granted bail by the Supreme Court after the Chhattisgarh High Court had denied his plea. In his appeal, Mr. Guha pleaded that he be granted bail, saying that he had already spent four years in jail.
Justice Prasad observed: “We can’t go on the basis of surmises and conjectures.” When Mr. Lalit said there were materials in Mr. Guha’s possession praising a “commendable job,” Justice Singhvi said, “It is very difficult to give fixed meaning to these words. It is said in a different context and in a different perspective; the meaning changes from person to person.”