07 March,2024 11:11 AM IST | Nagpur | Faizan Khan
GN Saibaba released from Nagpur prison after acquittal/ Pic: Adv Nihal Singh
The Delhi University professor GN Saibaba, arrested in the Maoist links case, was released from Nagpur Central Jail on Thursday. He, along with five others, were recently acquitted by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court. Saibaba was arrested in 2014.
The Nagpur bench of the HC acquitted Saibaba and others on Tuesday.
According to media reports, the bench, which included Justices Vinay Joshi and Valmiki SA Menezes, overturned a 2017 conviction by a sessions court that sentenced Saibaba and others to life imprisonment under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The defendants were apprehended in 2014.
The High Court's decision to acquit Saibaba and the other accused came after the appeal was reheard by the Supreme Court, which had reversed the High Court's earlier acquittal verdict, a report in ANI stated.
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According to the report, previously, on April 19, 2023, the Supreme Court overturned the High Court's judgement to discharge Saibaba and others, following a petition from the Maharashtra government disputing the verdict.
In response to the Maharashtra government's challenge, the Supreme Court postponed the High Court's judgement to release the defendants on October 14, 2022. The accused, including Saibaba, remained in jail awaiting the Supreme Court's ruling, despite being granted the right to request bail, the report added.
The suspects, initially convicted by the Sessions Court in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, were accused of being members of the Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF), which was reportedly related to an illegal Maoist organisation. However, the High Court's acquittal has reversed their previous convictions.
Along with Saibaba, the High Court acquitted Mahesh Kariman Tirki, Pandu Pora Narote, Hem Keshavdatta Mishra, and Prashant Rahi, all of whom were sentenced to life in prison, as well as Vijay Tirki, who was sentenced to ten years. Unfortunately, Narote passed away during the appeals process, reports stated.
With agency inputs
