Maharashtra govt moves SC challenging HC verdict acquitting former DU professor GN Saibaba in Maoist links case

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After the Bombay High Court (HC) acquitted former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba and five other accused in an alleged Maoist links case, Maharashtra government has moved to Supreme Court challenging HC verdict, reported news wire PTI.

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay HC on Tuesday acquitted all accused including GN Saibaba, Hem Mishra, Mahesh Tirkey, Vijay Tirkey, Narayan Sanglikar, Prashant Rahi and Pandu Narote (deceased) in the case. The court set aside the verdict of a sessions court that had convicted Saibaba and others in 2017, noting the prosecution failed to prove the case against him.

The High Court had allowed an appeal filed by Saibaba and five others challenging a 2017 decision of the trial court convicting and sentencing him to life imprisonment under the anti-terror law UAPA. They were arrested in 2014.

Former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba's wife Vasantha Kumari on Tuesday afternoon expressed huge relief on his acquittal in the Maoist links case, saying justice is delivered after 10 years of struggle. "It feels like a huge relief but we don't know what to expect right now. In 2022 also, he was acquitted but the decision was challenged. So I feel that till the time he comes back home here we will remain anxious," Vasantha told PTI.

Saibaba has been lodged in the Nagpur Centra Jail since his arrest in 2014.

Earlier on April 19, 2023, the Supreme Court set aside the order of the Bombay High Court that discharged former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba and other accused in a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for alleged Maoist links.

Maharashtra government had approached the top court challenging the October 14, 2022 order of the Bombay High Court which discharged Saibaba and others in an alleged Maoist links case. On October 15, the top court in a special hearing suspended the October 14 order of the High Court which discharged Saibaba and others.

It also stayed the release of Saibaba and others from jail.

The accused were sentenced to life imprisonment by the Sessions Court at Gadchiroli, Maharashtra in March 2017 for offences under various sections of UAPA and 120 B of the Indian Penal Code for alleged association with the Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF), which was alleged to be an affiliate of outlawed Maoist organisation.

(With PTI and ANI inputs)