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GN Saibaba has been acquitted by the High Court which reheard the appeal by him after the Supreme Court had set aside the October 2022 acquittal order by an earlier bench of the High Court and remanded the matter back to the High Court for a fresh hearing
The Supreme Court today granted leave in the SLP filed by the Maharashtra Government against the Bombay High Court's acquittal of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba in a case registered against him alleging links with Maoists.
Notably, a bench of Justices BR Gavai and Sandeep Mehta refused to stay the High Court order of acquittal.
Court noted that no urgency existed to hear a case where the acquittal had been upheld twice. Impugned order seems to be well reasoned, added the bench.
A division bench of the high court at Nagpur comprising Justice Vinay Joshi and Justice Valmiki SA Menezes had pronounced the judgement acquitting Saibaba last week.
Notably, the High Court also refused to stay its judgment acquitting the Delhi University Professor and rejected the state government's application seeking a stay on the judgment to allow time for the state to file an appeal before the Supreme Court.
During the evening hearing, Advocate General Birendra Saraf informed the bench that they had filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court.
Saraf sought a stay on the ground that there were wider implications of the case, as the trial court had convicted the professor and five others considering their guilt and the seriousness of the charges.
Before the High Court, the prosecution claimed that the appellants had connections with the CPI Maoist and its frontal organization, the Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF).
It was further alleged that the appellants were abetting and assisting the hardcore underground cadre of the CPI (Maoist) by providing information, and material, and facilitating the travel and relocation of members from one location to another.
The Sessions Court convicted the 6 accused in the case for having links with Maoists and waging war against the state.
The Sessions Court had also found that Saibaba and 2 others were in possession of naxal literature which were circulated to the residents of Gadchiroli to incite violence.
In October 2022, the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court, comprising Justice Rohit Deo and Justice Anil Pansare, acquitted GN Saibaba and five others. They had been convicted by the trial court under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and were sentenced to life imprisonment.
The court acquitted all six convicts on the grounds that the sessions judge had framed charges against the appellants and examined the first witness in the absence of sanction.
Subsequently, an appeal was filed in the Supreme Court against Saibaba's acquittal. The top court set aside the acquittal order and directed the high court to decide the matter afresh.
Case Title: State of Maharashtra vs. Mahesh Tirki
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