DU ex-professor GN Saibaba released from Nagpur jail after acquittal in Maoist links case

“My health is very bad. I can’t talk. I will have to first take medical treatment, and then only I will able to speak,” Saibaba, who has been wheelchair-bound, told reporters after coming out of the jail.

Supreme Court advocate Indira Jaising sharing a photo of Saibaba wrote on X, “Finally Free.”

Finally free
Saibaba outside the gates of prison , with his lawyers by his side pic.twitter.com/KjYtxJ4DrG

— Indira Jaising (@IJaising) March 7, 2024

A family member was waiting for him outside the jail.

The Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court on Tuesday, 5 March, set aside the life sentence of Saibaba in the alleged Maoist links case, noting that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.

The HC overturned Saibaba’s sentence, terming the sanction for prosecution granted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) as “null and void.”

The court said the sanction given under UAPA by the state authority was without application of mind and the report submitted by the independent authority recommending invocation of UAPA provisions in the case was “cryptic and a laconic half-page communication”.

The bench also noted that the seizure of some pamphlets and electronic data from the accused merely demonstrated that they were sympathisers of the Maoist philosophy.

Also Read: GN Saibaba, 5 co-accused acquitted by Bombay HC in Maoist links case

Case background

In March 2017, a sessions court in Gadchiroli 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.

Saibaba and the co-accused were arrested in 2014 on charges of having links with Maoist organizations and waging war against India.

During the trial at the Sessions Court in Gadchiroli in Maharashtra, the prosecution contended that the accused were working for the banned CPI (Maoist) group through front organizations such as RDF, according to a Live Law report.

The prosecution relied on evidence, including seized pamphlets and electronic material deemed as anti-national, allegedly seized at the behest of GN Saibaba in Gadchiroli. It was further alleged that Saibaba handed over a 16GB memory card intended for Naxalites sheltering in the Abuzmad forest area, the report said.

In October 2022, the earlier bench of the Bombay High Court held the trial void due to the absence of a valid sanction under Section 45(1) of the UAPA. The court had underscored the importance of procedural compliance in cases involving terrorism and emphasized that departures from due process could foster an environment conducive to terrorism.

Also Read: SC requested to review decision

Supreme Court’s orders

Within days, a Bench of the Supreme Court had set aside the Bombay High Court order, saying the offences involved are very serious in nature and the accused were convicted after detailed appreciation of evidence.

The SC Bench’s order noted: “High Court has not considered the merits. High Court has discharged the accused only on the grounds that sanction was invalid and some material placed before the appropriate authority and sanction was granted on the same day.”

The bench stressed that the high court should proceed without prejudice and solely on the case’s merits, without being influenced by its earlier order.

The Supreme Court clarified that it had not determined the case’s merits and emphasized the need for a thorough review by the high court.

(With PTI inputs)