HC seeks Maha govt's reply to parole plea of ex-prof Saibaba

The Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court on Tuesday sought Maharashtra government's response to a petition filed by former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba, seeking emergency parole to attend post-funeral rituals of his mother.

The Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court on Tuesday sought Maharashtra government's response to a petition filed by former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba, seeking emergency parole to attend post-funeral rituals of his mother. The court, later in the day, also sought response to a bail application of former journalist Prashant Rahi, convicted in the same case as Saibaba.

Saibaba, who is serving life sentence in the Nagpur Central Prison for links with Maoists, lost his 74-year-old mother on August 1 even as his lawyers were seeking to arrange a video conference between the two. Last week, the prison authorities rejected Saibaba's application for parole to attend the last rites in Hyderabad.

His lawyer, senior advocate Mihir Desai, then filed an application before the high court for emergency parole so that he could attend post-funeral rituals. Special public prosecutor P K Sathianathan sought time from the court to respond to the plea.

A division bench of Justices A S Chandurkar and A B Borkar directed the government to file its reply by August 18. Saibaba had sought parole earlier when his mother, who had cancer, was unwell, but the prison authorities rejected the plea.

The former professor, 51, who is wheelchair-bound with over 90 per cent physical disabilities, had also filed a bail plea on the same grounds but the high court rejected it on July 28. In March 2017, a sessions court in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district convicted Saibaba, Rahi and three others for having Maoist links and for activities amounting to "waging war against the country" under the IPC and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Rahi, who is serving life imprisonment in Amravati Jail, has moved the court through his lawyer Pradeep Madnian, seeking bail and suspension of sentence. The court asked the government to reply within two weeks.