GN Saibaba was a Delhi University teacher of English until he was terminated by Ram Lal Anand College last year.
Since 2003, he had been teaching English as an Assistant Professor at the college. After being arrested by the Maharashtra police for suspected Maoist links, he was suspended in 2014.
As a result of his suspension in 2014, his family has only received half of the salary he would normally receive. Lastly, on March 31, 2021, the principal of the Ram Lal Anand college signed a memorandum terminating his services “with immediate effect”.
In March 2017, a sessions court in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district convicted him and others, including a journalist and a student from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU, for alleged Maoist affiliations and engaging in activities akin to waging war against the country.
According to the prosecution, the documents under Saibaba’s name included a letter to his daughter’s school principal, one to his college, and another to an institute in Hyderabad. It said that letters written to Maoist bosses also include letters under the name 'Prakash' mention about his handicap, his frustration in Delhi, and his desire to work underground rather than in managerial posts.
The court found Saibaba and the others guilty under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Following that, the Bombay High Court's division bench of Justices Rohit Deo and Anil Pansare granted an appeal filed by Saibaba challenging the trial court's 2017 ruling convicting him and sentencing him to life imprisonment. He was acquitted on Friday, October 14, 2022.
According to his wife Vasantha, Saibaba suffers from several life-threatening ailments, including Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy with left ventricular dysfunction, hypertension, kidney stones, a cyst in his brain, pancreatic problems, attenuation of the shoulder and arm muscles, and nerves resulting in partial paralysis of his upper limbs, and is 90% disabled.
In protest against the installation of a CCTV camera which allegedly records footage of the toilet and bathing area, Saibaba had threatened to go on an indefinite hunger strike inside his jail cell earlier this year. On Saturday, his wife and brother wrote to the Maharashtra Home Minister seeking the removal of the CCTV camera.
