The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday acquitted Delhi University’s former professor GN Saibaba and five other accused in the 2014 alleged Maoist links case, after holding that the Prosecution had failed to prove charges against them and that it did not have valid sanction to prosecute them under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
A HC bench of Justices Vinay Joshi and Valmiki SA Menezes set aside the 2017 judgment of the trial court that had convicted Saibaba and other accused, after holding that the conviction was “unsustainable in the hands of law”
Apart from averring that the prosecution had failed to prove the case against the accused, the HC bench held that the sanction taken for prosecution of the accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) was “null and void”.
The HC bench noted the entire prosecution was vitiated on account of an invalid sanction to prosecute the accused. It also observed that the trial that was held despite the violation of mandatory provisions of law amounted to a “failure of justice”.
The HC bench pointed out that the prosecution had failed to establish legal seizure of material and could not prove any incriminating material against the accused.
The HC bench said that the accused could be released from prison upon deposit of Rs 50,000 each as bail bonds till the Supreme Court decides State’s appeal.
Fifty-four-year-old wheelchair-bound and 99 percent disabled Saibaha is currently lodged in Nagpur Central Jail.
The then English professor of the Department of English, Ram Lal Anand College, Delhi University, Saibaba was arrested under the provisions of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and UAPA on May 9, 2014 for alleged links with Maoists by the Maharashtra police.