Within a day of Bombay High Court ordering discharge of Professor GN Saibaba in case relating to his alleged Maoist connections, the Apex Court on Saturday suspended the Bombay HC’s judgement, extending the professor’s stay in jail. Hearing Maharashtra government’s plea challenging the High Court decision, the SC issued notice to the accused and listed the matter for hearing on December 8.
“We are of the firm opinion that the impugned judgment of the High Court is required to be suspended…It is not in dispute that even considering Section 390 CrPC and the decision of this court in the case of 1976(3) SCC 1 the appellate court in an appeal against acquittal, can suspend the order of acquittal/discharge. Therefore, this court can suspend the HC order,” the bench observed in its order, LiveLaw reported.
“High Court has not considered the merits. High Court has discharged the accused only on the ground that sanction was invalid and some material which was placed before the appropriate authority and sanction was granted on the same day”, the Court noted in the order,” the top court further added.
Earlier on Friday, the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court had acquitted Delhi University professor Gokarakonda Naga Saibaba.
The appeal brought by GN Saibaba, who was found guilty and given a life sentence in 2017, was accepted by a split bench of Justice Rohit Deo and Anil Pansare.
GN Saibaba is wheelchair-bound due to a physical disability. Currently, he is lodged in Nagpur Central Prison.
The appeal of five other convicts in the case was also allowed by the bench. They too have been acquitted. One of the five passed away.
The bench directed, “Convicts should be released forthwith from jail unless they are accused in any other case.”
In 2013, GN Saibaba was arrested in Delhi. The charge against him was that Saibaba attended a summit of the Revolutionary Democratic Front in 2012, which is a Maoist front group that is outlawed in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
Under various provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the court had held GN Saibaba and the others guilty.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
