SC to hear on Saturday Maharashtra's plea against Saibaba's acquittal

The Supreme Court Friday agreed to hear on Saturday Maharashtras plea for a stay on the Bombay High Court order acquitting G N Saibaba after Solicitor General Tushar Mehtas persistent pitch that the acquittal was not on merit but for want of appropriate sanction to prosecute him under the antiterror law UAPAMounting a spirited argument against the release of wheelchairbound Saibaba incarcerated in the Nagpur Central Jail Mehta said the offence committed by him were against the nationMehtas assertions notwithstanding the apex court bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and Hima Kohli was unyielding and told told him that the court cannot stay Saibabas acquittal as the parties are not before itThe bench also said it has not gone through the case file or the verdict of the high courtYou move an application before the registry for taking administrative decision on urgent listing of the matter from the Chief Justice of India the bench advised the Solicitor General who appeared for Maharashtra PoliceLater in the evening on Friday the Supreme Court website said the matter was listed for hearing on Saturday usually a holiday at the apex court at 11 am by a bench of justices M R Shah and Bela M TrivediAlso read HC quashes 2021 order of Maha govt appointing members to Saibaba temple trustEarlier in its order the court noted At this stage we deem it appropriate to mention that the proceedings have been mentioned before this Court since the Bench presided over by the Chief Justice has risen for the dayThe Solicitor General states that he will move an application before the Registry for obtaining administrative directions of the Chief Justice for listing of the Special Leave Petition tomorrow October 15We have not lost on merit but for want of sanction The matter will become infructuous as they will be released from jail if not the case is urgently listed Mehta pleaded before the two judgesThe accused were involved with CPI Maoist and the high court acquitted them The offence committed by these persons is serious in nature and against the nation Subsequently UAPA was invoked and the question before the high court was whether UAPA was correctly invoked or not Mehta saidThe bench however contended the matter will not become infructuousIt will not become infructuous They have an acquittal order in their favour We cannot stay the acquittal order without issuing notice to them and would list the matter for Monday October 17 and may take the matter on top of the board the court saidIf you want a special bench then you move an application before the registry for administrative direction from the CJI in that regard it addedMehta however insisted two days will not cause prejudice to those acquitted as courts are staying orders of acquittal every other dayThe bench however did not agree with his contentionEarlier in the day more than eight years after his arrest the Bombay High Court acquitted Saibaba and ordered his release from jail noting that the sanction order issued to prosecute the accused in the case under the stringent provisions of the UAPA was bad in law and invalidThe Nagpur bench of the high court allowed the appeal filed by Saibaba challenging a 2017 order of the trial court convicting and sentencing him to life imprisonmentApart from Saibaba the court acquitted Mahesh Kariman Tirki Pandu Pora Narote both farmers Hem Keshavdatta Mishra student and Prashant Sanglikar journalist who were sentenced to life imprisonment and Vijay Tirki labourer who was awarded 10 years in jail Narote died during the pendency of the appealSaibaba 52 who is wheelchairbound due to a physical disability is currently lodged in the Nagpur central prison He was arrested in February 2014In March 2017 a sessions court in Maharashtras Gadchiroli district convicted Saibaba and 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 countryThe court had held Saibaba and others guilty under various provisions of the stringent antiterror law UAPA and the Indian Penal Code IPCSanction to prosecute the accused under the UAPA was granted in 2014 against the five accused who were arrested first and against Saibaba in 2015The high court bench noted in 2014 when the trial court took cognisance of the chargesheet filed by the prosecution there was no sanction to prosecute Saibaba under the UAPAUnder UAPA an independent authority is appointed to review the evidence in a case and submit a report stating if the provisions of the Act can be invoked against the accusedThe prosecution had alleged that the convicts were active members of the banned outfit CPIMaoist and its frontal organisation Revolutionary Democratic FrontThe high court declared the trial court proceedings null and void in the absence of a valid sanction under the UAPA and quashed its judgmentThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no 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