The Bombay High Court acquitted former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba and five others in the Maoist link under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) case on Tuesday, March 5.
A division bench of Justice Vinay Joshi and Justice Valmiki SA Menezes delivered the judgment. GN Saibaba and Hem Mishra, Mahesh Tirkey, Vijay Tirkey, Narayan Sanglikar, Prashant Rahi and Pandu Narote (deceased) were arrested in 2014 on charges of having links with Maoist organizations and waging war against India.
The Court said that the accused can be released from prison upon deposit of Rs 50,000 each as bail bonds till the Supreme Court decides State's appeal. During the trial at the Sessions Court in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, the prosecution contended that the accused were working for the banned CPI (Maoist) group through front organizations such as RDF.
The subsequent trial led to their conviction in March 2017 under sections 13, 18, 20, 38 and 39 of the UAPA and 120-B of IPC. One of the accused, Pandu Pora Narote, died in August 2022. Mahesh Tirki, Hem Keshwdatta Mishra, Prashant Rahi and Vijay Nan Tirki are the other accused.