Allahabad:
The Allahabad High Court today granted bail to human rights activists Seema Azad and her husband Vishwavijay who were recently awarded life imprisonment by a local court in Allahabad after being charged with sedition and having links with Maoist insurgents.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Dharnidhar Jha and Justice Ashok Pal Singh passed the order on a bail application filed by the couple, who have been lodged in the high-security Naini Central Prison situated on the outskirts of the city.
The couple, who have been closely associated with the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), were arrested from Khuldabad police station area of the city on February 26, 2010 and were alleged to have been in possession of Maoist literature.
The arrest of the couple, who also published a journal, "Dastak", devoted to the cause of the lower classes, had evoked widespread condemnation from civil rights groups across the country.
However, on June 8 this year, after being tried for sedition, they were sentenced to imprisonment for life besides being slapped with a fine of approximately Rs 70,000.