Sen’s family and supporters allege, there was prejudice in the way the case was being handled. They will now appeal in the Supreme Court.
Charged with sedition, Dr Binayak Sen will continue to be in jail for much longer.
The Chhattishgarh High Court in Bilaspur took just two minutes to refuse bail in the case that has come to attract global attention and even an appeal from 40 Nobel Laureates did not work.
The court also refused bail for Piyush Guha. The court says, prima facie there is evidence on record to deny bail. Prosecution claimed in court that Binayak has close links with Maoists.
In a 34 page judgement the two-judge bench of the High Court said minute analysis of evidence is not warranted at this stage. Binayak’s wife Ilina Sen alleges that there is prejudice in the way the case is handled.
"It is the climate in Chhattisgarh. I did not expect a conviction because the case was so weak. I did not expect that bail will be refused," said Ilina Sen.
"Primarily the court itself is rigged," said writer activist Mahashewta Devi.
The decision comes close on the heels of a Supreme Court judgment that mere membership of a banned organisation does not make one a criminal.
Ram Jethmalani who defied his party, BJP, to argue for Binayak maintained that there was no incitment to violence and an offence of sedition cannot be made out.
The force of arguments by Binayaks’s lawyers, the power of the appeal by civic society and the Nobel laureates could not get the doctor out of jail. The legal battle for bail will move to the Supreme Court next, as the Chhattisgarh High Court upheld the trial court judgment.