Not being selective against Saibaba, Mah govt to SC in appeal against HC order

NEW DELHI: The Maharashtra government on Thursday agreed to produce before the Supreme Court the entire trial court record pertaining to former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba’s conviction for alleged Maoist links, saying the records will demonstrate that Saibaba never raised the issue of sanction during the trial and that the state was not being selective against him.

The state government approached the Supreme Court on October 15 against the Bombay high court verdict passed a day earlier which struck down the conviction and life term handed down to wheelchair-bound Saibaba and others for shoddy paperwork and faulty procedure adopted by the trial court.

The Supreme Court, however. stayed the order pointing out that the accused were discharged at the threshold without examining the case on merits. Even the findings of the trial court judgment of 2017 convicting them under UAPA were not looked into, the top court held at a special sitting on October 15, Saturday.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta representing the Maharashtra government sought to buttress the argument at Thursday’s hearing in the top court, underlining that the issue of non-grant of sanction was never raised by Saibaba during the trial.

“I have filed the entire trial court records in support of my stand that the issue of sanction was not raised before the trial court. This is just to show that we are not being selective,” Mehta said.

The bench of justices MR Shah and Hima Kohli allowed Mehta to file the compilation of evidence or documents within a week and posted the matter for hearing on January 17.

Senior advocate R Basant who appeared for Saibaba was also granted a week’s time to file a response to the state’s appeal. The other four accused told the court that they did not intend to file any response.

Saibaba who is 90% disabled and is confined to a wheelchair was convicted along with five others – Mahesh Tirki, Pandu Narote, Hem Mishra, Prashant Rahi and Vijay Tirki in March 2017. He was sentenced to life imprisonment but released on bail by the Supreme Court in 2016. One of the accused, Narote died in custody. The high court order was passed in connection with Saibaba and four others.

In its order staying the release of the five accused, the top court on October 15 held, “The offences for which the accused were convicted by the trial Court are very serious and if ultimately, they are tested by the high court on merits and on merits the state succeeds, the offences are very serious against the sovereignty and integrity of the country.”

The court further held that the HC order had not “considered anything on the merits of the judgment and order passed by the learned trial court” and said, “The accused (Saibaba) has been discharged on the ground that there was no sanction the day on which the trial court took cognizance and even famed the charge. However, the same question is required to be considered in detail.”