On Tuesday, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court declined GN Saibaba’s application seeking death parole for attending the last rites of his mother. GN Saibaba is a former Delhi University professor. He is over 90% physically disabled, that bounds him to a wheelchair. He is currently serving a life sentence at the Nagpur Central Prison. A session court in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district had convicted him for having Maoist link, thereby engaging in activities that were termed as “waging war against the country”. He was upheld for being guilty under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Apart from him, four other people were found guilty, including a journalist and a student from Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Saibaba’s mother, Gokarakonda Suryavathi was suffering from cancer and was undergoing treatment at NIMS, Hyderabad. Her condition had severely deteriorated in the past few days. She breathed her last on August 1, around the same time when his lawyer Aakash Sarode, was trying to make arrangements a video conference between them.
The Nagpur bench had rejected Saibaba’s bail application for a 45-day release which was being sought citing medical conditions and also to meet his mother. After hearing about her death, Saibaba applied for a “death parole” to attend her last rites.
A jail official stated that as per the documented protocols, the local police station in Hyderabad was asked for a report. However, it did not come out to be in Saibaba’s favor as a result of which, his application was rejected. Nonetheless, Sarode has stated that they will take further steps once they receive a copy of the order by the jail authorities.
