G N Saibaba, a former English professor at Delhi University, passed away late Saturday evening at the age of 57 due to post-operative complications after surgery for gallbladder stones. He was receiving treatment at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad, where he had been admitted 10 days prior due to deteriorating health.
According to his aides, Saibaba suffered a heart attack around 8 PM and was pronounced dead half an hour later. His passing has drawn attention to his contentious legal history, as he was a notable figure due to his prior arrest and subsequent acquittal in a high-profile case linked to Maoist activities.
On March 5, Saibaba was acquitted by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court, which set aside the life imprisonment sentence that had been imposed on him in 2017. The court’s division bench, comprising Justices Vinay Joshi and Valmiki SA Menezes, stated that the prosecution had failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt against Saibaba and five co-accused.
Saibaba was arrested on May 9, 2014, along with several others, including Mahesh Tirki, Pandu Narote, and Hem Mishra, and charged with maintaining ties to the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and engaging in activities deemed as waging war against the nation. While Saibaba and his associates received life sentences from a Maharashtra sessions court, the Bombay High Court’s ruling led to their release from Nagpur Central Jail on March 7.
Throughout his career, Saibaba had been an outspoken advocate for human rights and had actively participated in various social justice movements. He began his tenure at Ram Lal Anand College in 2003, where he was respected as an educator until his suspension in 2014 following his arrest.
