The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday acquitted former Delhi University professor and human rights defender GN Saibaba and five other accused in an alleged Maoist links case, Bar and Bench reported.
Saibaba (54), a wheelchair-bound and 99 percent disabled, is presently lodged in Nagpur Central Jail.
A bench of Justices Vinay Joshi and Valmiki SA Menezes set aside the verdict of a sessions court which had convicted Saibaba and others in 2017. The Court said that the accused can be released from prison upon deposit of ₹50,000 each as bail bonds till the Supreme Court decides State’s appeal.
The rehearing happened after the top court set aside the acquittal order and remanded the matter back to the High Court for fresh hearing.
In March 2017, Gadchiroli session court had convicted Saibaba and the others for alleged Maoist links and for indulging in activities amounting to waging war against the country. Saibaba then moved the Bombay High Court against the sessions court order. The HC had on 14 October 2022 allowed the appeal and acquitted Saibaba.
