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The Observatory has been informed about the acquittal and subsequent release of Mr Gokarakonda Naga Saibaba, former
professor in the University of Delhi and well-known campaigner for the
rights of traditionally oppressed communities, especially Dalit and
indigenous communities, in India. G.N. Saibaba has spoken out against
the violence and discrimination faced by these communities, especially
in mineral-rich central India. He also campaigned extensively against
serious human rights abuses by state backed private militias and
government security forces, including killings, torture, and forced
displacement, in Chhattisgarh State since mid-2005.
On March 7, 2024, G.N. Saibaba was
released from Nagpur Central Jail, after 10 years of judicial harassment
and seven years of continuous arbitrary detention in conditions that
appear to have amounted to torture and ill-treatment.
On March 5, 2024, the Nagpur Bench
of the Bombay High Court had acquitted G.N. Saibaba of all charges
against him. The government of Maharashtra State immediately appealed
the High Court’s decision with a stay of execution, rejected on the same
day. The Maharashtra State government subsequently petitioned such
immediate stay to the Supreme Court. On March 11, 2024, the Supreme
Court rejected the request, confirming the order of acquittal.
The Observatory recalls that G.N. Saibaba was arbitrarily arrested
on May 9, 2014 in Delhi, in relation to his alleged links to a banned
Maoist organisation. While returning from his work at Delhi University,
he was abducted from the car he was travelling in, brought to the
airport, and put on a plane to Nagpur, Maharashtra State. He was never
shown an arrest warrant and his relatives were not informed about his
arrest. Despite his physical disability, G.N. Saibaba was placed in
detention at the Nagpur Central Jail, over a thousand kilometres away
from his home.
On March 7, 2017, the District and
Session Court of Gadchiroli sentenced G.N. Saibaba to life imprisonment
on charges of conspiracy and membership of a terrorist organisation
under Sections 13, 18, 20, 39, and 39 of the Unlawful Activities
(Prevention) Act (UAPA).
On October 14, 2022, the Nagpur
Bench of the Bombay High Court acquitted G.N. Saibaba, arguing that the
legal procedures under Section 45(1) of the UAPA had not been adequately
followed. However, within 24 hours, the Supreme Court suspended the
decision of the Bombay High Court arguing that the procedural issue
could not lead to G.N. Saibaba’s acquittal given the gravity of the
alleged crime and requested a new hearing, which was held on March 5,
2024.
The Observatory further recalls that G.N. Saibaba’s health severely deteriorated
while in detention. Saibaba has a disability due to polio and other
severe health issues including a heart condition, brain cyst,
hypertension, and breathing difficulties. In addition, the prison
administration failed to take adequate measures to address his mobility
impairment while he was in a wheelchair. On the contrary, he was held in
solitary confinement in a windowless cell. In 2018, his left arm was
paralysed due to nerve damage and the lack of timely treatment. The
inflammation has since spread to his right arm, and he is no longer able
to use his hands for writing or daily functions. United Nations human
rights experts called
for his release on medical grounds in 2018, urging Indian authorities
to ensure G.N. Saibaba’s access to health care and reminding them that
“any denial of reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities in
detention is not only discriminatory but may well amount to
ill-treatment or even torture”.
The Observatory welcomes the
acquittal and release of G.N. Saibaba but underlines that he should
never have been detained in the first place, his detention being
arbitrary as it merely aimed at punishing him for his legitimate human
rights activities.
Moreover, the Observatory reiterates
its concern over the misuse of the UAPA by the authorities to target
human rights defenders and silence dissent and urges the Indian
authorities to release all human rights defenders arbitrarily detained
under this legislation.
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