New Delhi: The Supreme Court today suspended the Bombay High Court's order on GN Saibaba's acquittal, stating that he shall continue to serve a life sentence in prison for his affiliations with the Maoist movement. The Maharashtra government had filed a petition challenging the High Court's decision, and the top court requested responses from GN Saibaba and the other defendants. The matter has been set for hearing on December 8 and responses from both parties were sought.
The appeal for GN Saibaba to be placed under house arrest in light of his physical impairment and medical ailments was also denied by the top court panel of Justices M R Shah and Bela M Trivedi, who heard the case on a non-working day. "My client is 90 per cent physically disabled and has multiple ailments. He is confined to his wheelchair," informed senior lawyer Basant to the court speaking on behalf of Mr Saibaba, NDTV reported.
The bench, however, turned down the request, citing the professor's conviction for a serious offence. "For terrorism and Naxal activities, brain usage is more important than any other physical involvement," Justice Shah said.
After the Bombay High Court cleared Mr Saibaba of all charges and ordered his immediate release from custody, the Maharashtra government petitioned the Supreme Court, claiming that the sanction order issued to prosecute the defendants in the case under the strict anti-terror law UAPA (The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act) was "bad in law and invalid."
After Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's argument that the acquittal was not permissible under the UAPA, the top court consented to hear the case on an urgent listing on Saturday, which is usually a holiday at the top court.
The 52-year-old wheelchair-bound Mr Saibaba is currently being held in the central prison in Nagpur. His arrest took place in February 2014.
A sessions court in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district found Mr Saibaba and several others guilty in March 2017 of having connections to the Maoist movement and engaging in actions that "amounted to waging war against the country." The other defendants included a journalist and a student at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).