G.N. Saibaba dies at 57, CPI(M) holds Modi govt responsible

Former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba, acquitted in a UAPA case this year after being charged with having Maoist links, died at a state-run hospital on Saturday from post-operative complications.

The 57-year-old's death comes seven months after his acquittal, before which he had spent a decade in prison following his arrest in May 2014. In an interview with Scroll after his release, the professor-activist, who was differently abled and used a wheelchair, had said he was denied adequate medical care in jail.

He had been admitted to Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad for the last 20 days, and his death has evoked sharp criticism of the government from those who knew and admired him.

"Incarcerated by the Indian state on charges of being a Maoist sympathizer, Prof Saibaba, with 90 percent disabilities, spent close to a decade in prison, and was often kept under the harshest solitary confinement. It feels unreal, even unthinkable to exercise the past tense to write of you, comrade. You are a living flame. Your spirited fight, your strong will that did not shatter under the most cruel state oppression, your faith in the power of the working people--this will remain your indelible legacy," wrote Dr Meena Kandasamy on X.

"Professor GN Saibaba lost his mother while he was in jail. The system which grants frequent paroles to the Ram Rahims of India subjects activists like Saibaba to years of unlawful incarceration and endless torture. This system needs to go. India deserves a robust rule of justice," CPI-ML leader Dipankar Bhattacharya said.

"We mourn the death of GN Saibaba. The Modi govt is responsible for his demise," the CPI(M) said in a statement issued after his death.

In March, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court acquitted Saibaba and five others in the alleged Maoist links case, ruling that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges. The court also overturned his life sentence, terming the sanction for prosecution granted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) as "null and void."

The court stated that the sanction granted under the UAPA by the state authorities lacked proper consideration. It described the report submitted by the independent authority, which recommended invoking UAPA provisions, as a "cryptic and concise half-page communication."

Saibaba had been lodged in jail since 2017 following his conviction by a trial court in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district. Before that, he was in prison from 2014 to 2016 before being granted bail. Saibaba’s death marks the end of a long legal and medical battle that began with his 2014 arrest, leaving behind a legacy of activism and resistance.

"First Father Stan Swamy and now Prof. Saibaba ! It’s criminal what the Indian State gets away with !!This man with 90 per cent disabilities was wrongly imprisoned & spent 10 years in prison despite being acquitted by the Bombay High Court! Honestly, shame on every single cowardly member of India’s rotten judicial system!" wrote Swara Bhaskar on X.