The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the acquittal of former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba by Bombay High Court.

The apex court, however, formally admitted the appeal filed by the Maharashtra government challenging his acquittal by reversing the 2014 conviction and life term imposed on him along with five others for alleged Maoist links.

A sessions court in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, had convicted and sentenced the paraplegic academic to life imprisonment as it accepted the prosecution case that he, along with several others, had conspired with Maoists to wage a war against the country.

However, Bombay High Court had on March 5 acquitted Saibaba and five others on the ground that the prosecution had failed to establish the charge beyond reasonable doubt. Aggrieved, the state had filed the appeal in the Supreme Court.

A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice B.R. Gavai at the outset told additional solicitor-general S.V. Raju, appearing for Maharashtra, that “prima facie, we find that the high court order is well-reasoned”.

Justice Sandeep Gupta, the other judge on the bench, remarked: “It is a hard-earned acquittal. You should know how many years this man has spent in jail.”

Raju initially told the bench that he wanted time to place certain additional documents relating to the case. The ASG also did not want to press for a stay of the impugned judgment.

Justice Gavai observed: “Normally, we would have dismissed the appeal but since this court had earlier interfered with the acquittal order, we will have to honour that; hence we are admitting the appeal for hearing.”

Adding that “otherwise this (the March 5 high court judgment) is a very well-reasoned judgment by the high court”, the apex court said: “In the ordinary course, we would not have entertained this appeal. The parameters of interference with acquittal orders are very limited.”

The bench was referring to the fact that the apex court had last year quashed an October 2022 judgment of the high court and asked it to rehear the appeal on merits. In October 2022, another bench of the high court had acquitted Saibaba of the charges on the ground that the authorities had not taken prior sanction from the government while seeking his prosecution.

However, on an appeal, the apex court had last year set aside the high court order of acquittal and asked it to hear the appeal on the merits of the allegations. Subsequently, the high court on March 5 passed the acquittal order.

Raju said on Monday that he was not pressing for a stay of the judgment, but urged the apex court to expedite the appeal filed by the state, which was also not considered by the court. Justice Gavai asked the ASG to move an application for an expeditious hearing.