Maoist links case: EX-Delhi University professor GN Saibaba released from Nagpur Central Jail
Saibaba, who is wheelchair-bound due to physical disability, was lodged in the Nagpur Central Jail since his arrest in the case in 2014.
- Mar 7, 2024,
- Updated Mar 7, 2024 11:37 AM IST
Former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba was on Thursday released from the Nagpur Central Jail. He was acquitted by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court in a Maoist link case two days ago on March 5.
Saibaba, who is wheelchair-bound due to physical disability, was lodged in the Nagpur Central Jail since his arrest in the case in 2014.
A division bench of Justices Vinay Joshi and Valmiki SA Menezes also acquitted five others accused in the case. The bench said the prosecution failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt against all of them. The bench also held as “null and void” the sanction procured by the prosecution to charge the accused under provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
While the prosecution did not seek the HC to stay its order, it said it was likely to file an appeal in the Supreme Court immediately.
On October 14, 2022, another bench of the HC acquitted Saibaba, noting the trial proceedings were “null and void” in the absence of a valid sanction under the UAPA.
The Maharashtra government had on the same day approached the apex court challenging the decision. The SC initially stayed the order and later in April 2023, set aside the HC order and directed it to hear the appeal filed by Saibaba afresh.
In 2017, a sessions court in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district convicted Saibaba and five others, including a journalist and a Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student, for alleged Maoist links and for indulging in activities amounting to waging war against the country.
The trial court had held them guilty under various provisions of the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code.
Former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba was on Thursday released from the Nagpur Central Jail. He was acquitted by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court in a Maoist link case two days ago on March 5.
Saibaba, who is wheelchair-bound due to physical disability, was lodged in the Nagpur Central Jail since his arrest in the case in 2014.
A division bench of Justices Vinay Joshi and Valmiki SA Menezes also acquitted five others accused in the case. The bench said the prosecution failed to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt against all of them. The bench also held as “null and void” the sanction procured by the prosecution to charge the accused under provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
While the prosecution did not seek the HC to stay its order, it said it was likely to file an appeal in the Supreme Court immediately.
On October 14, 2022, another bench of the HC acquitted Saibaba, noting the trial proceedings were “null and void” in the absence of a valid sanction under the UAPA.
The Maharashtra government had on the same day approached the apex court challenging the decision. The SC initially stayed the order and later in April 2023, set aside the HC order and directed it to hear the appeal filed by Saibaba afresh.
In 2017, a sessions court in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district convicted Saibaba and five others, including a journalist and a Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student, for alleged Maoist links and for indulging in activities amounting to waging war against the country.
The trial court had held them guilty under various provisions of the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code.