After the apex court granted him bail on Monday, human rights activist and Peoples' Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) leader Dr Binayak Sen expressed his gratitude to all those who had supported him during his hour of crisis. While he said he was confident of being cleared of all charges against him, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh said "let the law take its own course".

"I thank everyone who supported me," said Sen at the sessions court, where the trial against him is progressing, after hearing about the Supreme Court decision.

However, the Chief Minister said, "Our stand has been clear right from the beginning. Let the law take its own course. We have full faith in the judiciary."

Asked whether Sen got the bail as the prosecution could not put up a strong case against him, Singh said, "The bail has nothing to do with the ongoing trial in the court."

Sen has been in Raipur jail since May 14, 2007, for his alleged links with the outlawed Maoists. He was arrested under the provisions of the controversial Chhattisgarh Public Security Act, 2005, and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, on the charges of acting as a courier for an alleged Naxalite ideologue, Narayan Sanyal, who is in jail.

Human rights activists, NGOs and his supporters across the world had unleashed a "free Binayak Sen campaign", mounting pressure on the state and the Central governments to free the jailed activist. They described Sen as "a distinguished paediatrician and tireless human rights activist, who is being held under draconian state laws".

However, the state Government has been maintaining so far that it was for the court to take a decision about his release.

State PUCL president Rajendra Sail welcomed the apex court move, saying "he should have got bail two years ago". "There is a sense of relief among Sen's supporters and all those who have expressed solidarity. Our stand has been vindicated," he added.

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