'Acquitting GN Saibaba in Maoist link case is well reasoned,' says Supreme Court

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GN Saibaba released from Nagpur Central Jail after acquittal: Who is he? Saibaba was lodged in the jail here since 2017 after his conviction by a trial court in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district. Before that, he was in prison from 2014 to 2016 and was subsequently granted bail. The Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court on Tuesday set aside the life sentence of Saibaba in the alleged Maoist links case, noting that the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond 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." Bombay Court acquits ex-DU professor GN Saibaba and 5 others in Maoist link case The Bombay Court said the sanction given under UAPA by the state authority was without application of mind. The court called the report “cryptic and a laconic half page communication" which was submitted by the independent authority recommending invocation of UAPA provisions. After coming out of jail, GN Saibaba held a press conference in which he said that the case against him was “false and fabricated", and added that there was no evidence against him.

He claimed that the government that was in power at that time did not like the human rights movement and hence the case was filed against him. "Whichever that the government of the day in the state, they did not like this (Human right Movement)," he said. Speaking about his ordeal in prison, Saibaba said that he was unable to move from a wheelchair to the washroom.