Hyderabad/New Delhi:

The body of former Delhi University (DU) professor and rights activist GN Saibaba who passed away in Hyderabad, will be donated to a hospital as he wished, said a statement issued by his family on Sunday.

Saibaba, 58, was released from the Nagpur Central Jail after 10 years of incarceration after the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court set aside the life sentence given to him by a trial court, in an alleged Maoist links case in which the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) was invoked.

Saibaba’s body will be kept at his brother’s house in Jawahar Nagar, Hyderabad, for his relatives, friends and well-wishers to pay homage, on Monday. Afterwards, his body will be donated to state-run Gandhi Medical College. His eyes have already been donated to LV Prasad Eye Hospital, the family said in a statement.

The former professor who taught English at Ram Lal Anand College of Delhi University (DU) passed away on Saturday due to post-operative complications, seven months after he was acquitted.

Saibaba was suffering from gall bladder infection and was operated on two weeks ago in Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS), but developed complications subsequently.

His daughter Manjeera told PTI Videos that he had Covid twice, his health was in abysmal condition while he was in jail and he recovered every time. Hence, she said that family was hoping that he would come back this time too. Neither Saibaba nor family members expected his death, she said, adding that he expressed hope during the last conversation she had with him.

Ms Manjeera said, “His body had borne too much all these years.”

“I miss him. I still cannot believe he is not with us. I still feel that I will go and open the door and he will be there sitting on his wheelchair telling me to do this and that. I still feel that way. I still feel that he is with us,” she said.

Ms Manjeera said they were aware that his condition was severe since Saturday afternoon, but at around 8 pm, doctors told the family that his heart had stopped beating and they were trying to perform CPR on him. They pronounced him dead at 8.30 last night, she added.

Saibaba was terminated from service by the DU and his official accommodation was taken away after he was arrested in 2014.

Saibaba’s death will continue to weigh heavily on public conscience, said Prof Saikat Ghosh, one of the few DU teachers who raised his voice against his imprisonment and the way he was treated in the jail.

“The sad thing is that nobody will be held accountable for pushing him and his family to such a catastrophic end,” he said.

Saibaba was a popular colleague in the Literature fraternity of Delhi University. The popularity stemmed from his dedication as a teacher and his devotion to the issues of democratic rights and civil liberties, Mr Ghosh said.

It took Saibaba 10 years to prove that he was not guilty. He inspired many and his demise is a “big loss,” said DU Professor Abha Dev.

“One can only try to imagine his hardships with 90 per cent disability. The country does not know how to celebrate these stories to inspire others but they fear the truth that he was speaking,” said Ms Dev.

Another DU Professor, Monami, said Saibaba’s friends and well-wishers were disheartened by the news of his demise.

“He just came out a few months ago and left so soon. But he was mentally a strong person,” she said.

Saibaba was lodged in the Nagpur Central Jail since 2017 after his conviction by a trial court in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district. Before that, he was in prison from 2014 to 2016 and was subsequently granted bail.

Following his acquittal, the wheelchair-bound Saibaba walked out of the Nagpur Central Jail after 10 years.

Saibaba had alleged in August this year that he was not taken to a hospital for nine months by authorities despite the left side of his body getting paralysed and was just given painkillers in the Nagpur Central Jail.

A native of Andhra Pradesh, Saibaba had earlier claimed that he was warned by the authorities that if he did not stop “talking”, he would be arrested in some false case. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Former Delhi University (DU) professor G N Saibaba’s wife Vasantha Kumari on Sunday said she and her husband did not get much time to discuss his future plans after he came out of jail as they were in and out of hospitals during these months.

Saibaba, 54, who was an English professor at DU’s Ram Lal Anand College, died due to post-operative complications at a state-run hospital in Hyderabad on Saturday, seven months after he walked out of Nagpur Central Jail following his acquittal in a Maoist-links case. He was in jail for 10 years.

The 10 years of “cruel incarceration” in an ‘anda cell’ (high security, egg-shaped prison cell) affected his body, Vasantha told PTI over the phone.

“After he came out, we did not get much time to talk about his plans. He discussed them with me but did not elaborate on them. We were in and out of hospitals and did not get much time after he came out of jail,” she said.

“He had undergone a laparoscopic surgery for gall bladder removal and developed post-operative complications and inflammation at the site of surgery,” she said on his cause of death.

Vasantha urged Saibaba’s well-wishers to carry forward his legacy and keep fighting for upholding human rights.

In a statement issued earlier on Sunday, Saibaba’s family said it has decided to donate his body to a hospital. His eyes had already been donated to LV Prasad Eye Hospital, it said

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Hyderabad:

Former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba died at a state-run hospital here due to post-operative complications on Saturday, seven months after he was acquitted in an alleged Maoist links case. He was 54.

GN Saibaba was suffering from gall bladder infection and was operated on two weeks ago but developed complications subsequently. He breathed his last around 9 pm on Saturday, an official told PTI.

He was admitted to Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) for the last 20 days.

In March, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court acquitted GN Saibaba and five others in the alleged Maoist links case, noting that the prosecution had failed to prove the case against him.

The court also set aside his life sentence.

It had held as “null and void” the sanction procured by the prosecution to charge the accused under provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Following his acquittal, the wheelchair-bound GN Saibaba walked out of the Nagpur Central Jail after 10 years.

GN Saibaba had alleged in August this year that he was not taken to a hospital for nine months by authorities despite the left side of his body getting paralysed and was just given painkillers in the Nagpur Central Jail, where he was lodged since his arrest in the case in 2014.

The former English professor had claimed he was “kidnapped” and arrested by the police in order to silence his voice.

A native of Andhra Pradesh, GN Saibaba had said that he was warned by the authorities that if he did not stop “talking” he would be arrested in some false case.

He had alleged that he was “kidnapped” from Delhi and arrested by Maharashtra Police. Senior officers of Maharashtra Police along with an investigating officer had gone to his house and threatened him and his family, he had claimed.

He had alleged that Maharashtra Police dragged him out of his wheelchair during the course of arrest and as a result, he suffered a serious injury in his hand which also impacted his nervous system.

CPI MLA K Sambasiva Rao condoled GN Saibaba’s death and said it was a loss to society.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba demanded that he be reinstated by the varsity and compensated for the lost years of service following his acquittal by the Bombay High Court in a Maoist links case.

The Committee for the Defence and Release of Dr GN Saibaba comprising academicians, lawyers and Left politicians demanded his reinstatement and compensation for all the six people who were released from the Nagpur Central Jail after the court declared in its judgement that the prosecution failed to establish charges against them.

Addressing a press conference here, the 58-year-old said he can’t live without teaching and wants to resume his job as a professor. Saibaba was terminated from his service at DU’s Ram Lal Anand College in 2021 after being implicated in the case.

He said he still feels as if he is in a jail cell after spending seven years in prison.

He was released from the Nagpur Central Jail on Thursday, two days after his acquittal.

Talking about his family, he said they survived only on hope but regretted not being able to meet his mother on her deathbed and claimed he was denied bail to perform her last rites.

“Instead of going to the hospital, I chose to speak to the press because you supported me. My family faced stigma and I was called a terrorist,” he said with tears in his eyes.

Recalling his “jail ordeal” Saibaba claimed he was forced to live in cramped conditions and was denied medicines and treatment prescribed by doctors for his ailing health.

“I was imprisoned in a jail which has a capacity of 1,500 inmates but 3,000 people were lodged there in cramped conditions. There was no space to even sleep. Without a wheelchair I use to struggle to use toilet, take bath or even fetch myself a class of water. There was not even a single ramp in the prison for people like me,” he said in a chocked voice.

“Today I am alive in front of you. But every organ of my body is failing. I faced many medical emergencies in the jail but they only gave me painkillers and did a few tests,” he added.

Saibaba said that his family faced stigma because he was framed in a case under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Saibaba was lodged in the Nagpur Central Jail since 2017 after his conviction by a trial court in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district. Before that, he was in prison from 2014 to 2016 and was subsequently granted bail.

“I am still not able to register that I am free. I feel I am still lodged in the notorious jail cell. It was like an ‘agni pariksha’ for me. I had to go through a test by fire twice,” he said.

Thanking his lawyers, friends, and activists, he said one his lawyers fought his case without any fees.

“Another lawyer got jailed because of supporting me. During the trial, certain police officers threatened my lawyers,” he alleged.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba, who was acquitted by the Bombay High Court in a Maoist links case, said he still feels as if he is in a jail cell after spending seven years in prison.

He was released from the Nagpur Central Jail on Thursday, two days after his acquittal.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr Saibaba recalled his “jail ordeal” and even got emotional as he spoke about what his family went through in the last seven years.

Mr Saibaba was lodged in the Nagpur Central Jail since 2017 after his conviction by a trial court in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district. Before that, he was in prison from 2014 to 2016 and was subsequently granted bail.

“I am still not able to register that I am free. I feel I am still lodged in the notorious jail cell. It was like an ‘agni pariksha’ for me. I had to go through a test by fire twice,” he said.

Thanking his lawyers for fighting the case, he said one of them fought his case without any fees.

“Another lawyer got jailed because of supporting me. During the trial, certain police officers threatened my lawyers,” he alleged.

Talking about his family, he said they survived only on hope.

“Instead of going to the hospital, I chose to speak to the press because you supported me. My family faced stigma and I was called a terrorist,” he said with tears in his eyes.
 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court challenging the Bombay High Court verdict acquitting former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba in a case in which he was accused of having links with the banned CPI (Maoist).

Earlier in the day, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court acquitted Mr Saibaba, noting that the prosecution failed to prove the case against him.

The high court also set aside the life sentence imposed on Mr Saibaba, 54, and acquitted five other accused in the case.

“The prosecution has failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt the case against the accused persons,” a division bench of Justices Vinay Joshi and Valmiki SA Menezes said.

It held as “null and void” the sanction procured by the prosecution to charge the accused under anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

“The prosecution has failed to establish any legal seizure or any incriminating material against the accused,” the high court said.

Mr Saibaba, who is wheelchair-bound, is lodged in the Nagpur Central Jail since his arrest in the case in 2014.

In March 2017, a sessions court in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district had convicted Mr Saibaba and five others, including a journalist and a Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student, for alleged Maoist links and for indulging in activities amounting to waging war against the country.

The trial court had held Mr Saibaba and others guilty under various provisions of the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code.

On October 14, 2022, another bench of the high court had acquitted Mr Saibaba, noting the trial proceedings were “null and void” in the absence of a valid sanction under the UAPA.

The Maharashtra government, on the same day, approached the Supreme Court challenging the decision.

The Supreme Court initially stayed the order, and later set it aside in April 2023. It directed the high court to hear his appeal afresh.

The earlier high court bench comprising Justices Rohit Deo and Anil Pansare, in its October 2022 judgment, said the sanction to prosecute the five accused under the UAPA was granted in 2014 and against Saibaba in 2015. The five had been arrested before Mr Saibaba.

The bench had noted that in 2014, when the trial court took cognisance of the charge sheet filed by the prosecution, there was no sanction to prosecute Mr Saibaba under the UAPA.

Justice Deo, who was due to retire in December 2025, tendered his resignation on August 4, 2023, citing personal reasons.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)