Although much of civil society protested about Dr Sen’s arrest, there has been little response from the state or Central governments. When a delegation met the Union minister of home affairs in Delhi to raise concerns about his detention, they were told that this was a matter within the Chhattisgarh state government’s jurisdiction and the Centre could play no role in the matter.

It is a cruel irony that had the same treatment been meted out to Dr Sen in Australia, the Indian government would have been up in arms. Raipur and Bilaspur fall outside the Union home minister’s jurisdiction. This lack of response is not limited to the government. While the Indian media had focused considerably on Dr Haneef’s case, Dr Sen has been forgotten after his arrest.

The writer is a Delhi-based lawyer and researcher