Narrative highlights
The bench of the Bombay Excessive Court docket comprising justices Vinay Joshi and Valmiki SA Menezes rejected the 2017 verdict by a lessons court docket in Maharashtra’s metropolis of Nagpur which convicted Saibaba and others.
The Bombay Excessive Court docket, on Tuesday (Mar 5) acquitted gentle Delhi University professor GN Saibaba and 5 others accused within the Maoist hyperlink case. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra instruct executive moved the Supreme Court docket to scenario Bombay Excessive Court docket’s verdict.
What did the Bombay Excessive Court docket instruct?
The bench of the Bombay Excessive Court docket comprising justices Vinay Joshi and Valmiki SA Menezes rejected the 2017 verdict by a lessons court docket in Maharashtra’s metropolis of Nagpur which convicted Saibaba and others.
The Bombay Excessive Court docket acquitted GN Saibaba, Hem Mishra, Mahesh Tirkey, Vijay Tirkey, Narayan Sanglikar, Prashant Rahi and Pandu Narote (who died in 2022 attributable to swine flu).
The six of us had been arrested and convicted beneath assorted sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for alleged Maoist hyperlinks and have faith been accused of aiding and abetting Maoist activities in March 2017.
On the opposite hand, the bench stated it became as soon as acquitting all the accused within the case for the reason that prosecution had failed to screen the case beyond cheap doubt against them. The Bombay Excessive Court docket stated that the accused would be launched from jail after paying a blinding of Rs 50,000 (approx. $603).
“The prosecution has failed to screen beyond cheap doubt the case against the accused folks,” the high court docket stated. It held as “null and void” the sanction procured by the prosecution to charge the accused beneath the anti-fright regulation, UAPA.
The Bombay Excessive Court docket additionally acquitted Saibaba, 54, and field apart the life sentence imposed on him noting that the prosecution failed to screen the case against the gentle Delhi University professor.
The 54-year-former is wheelchair-certain attributable to physical incapacity and has been lodged within the Nagpur Central Jail since his arrest in terms of the case in 2014.
Maharashtra govt to switch the Supreme Court docket
While the prosecution didn’t see the high court docket to maintain its describe, the Maharashtra executive, on Tuesday approached the Supreme Court docket to scenario the Bombay Excessive Court docket verdict of acquitting all these accused within the case, reported files agency PTI.
The case stems from accusations against Saibaba and 5 others for alleged Maoist hyperlinks and supposedly indulging in activities amounting to waging battle against the nation.
The contemporary verdict comes after another bench of the high court docket acquitted Saibaba, in 2022, pronouncing that the trial proceedings have faith been “null and void” within the absence of a unswerving sanction beneath the UAPA.
On the time, the Maharashtra executive, on the same day, had moved the Supreme Court docket to scenario the resolution. The apex court docket had in the starting up put field apart the high court docket describe and ordered it to hear the allure filed by Saibaba as soon as more.
(With inputs from companies)
