Ex Professor GN Saibaba, Serving Life Term, Cleared Of Maoist Link Charge

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Friday acquitted former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba in an alleged Maoist links case, and ordered his immediate release from jail.

A division bench of Justice Rohit Deo and Anil Pansare allowed the appeal filed by GN Saibaba challenging a 2017 order of the trial court convicting him and sentencing him to life imprisonment.

GN Saibaba, who is wheelchair-bound due to a physical disability, is currently lodged at the Nagpur central prison.

The bench also allowed the appeal of five other convicts in the case and acquitted them. One of the five died pending hearing of the appeal.

The bench directed for the convicts to be released forthwith from jail unless they are accused in any other case.

Mr Saibaba's wife said she had faith he would be acquitted. "We had faith he would be acquitted. We are thankful to judiciary and to those who supported us," Mr Saibaba's wife told PTI.

In March 2017, a sessions court in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district had 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 country.

The court had held GN Saibaba and the others guilty under various provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

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