SC Refuses to Stay Sai Baba Acquittal

New Delhi: Terming the Bombay High Court order clearing former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba and others in the Maoist links case “prima facie well-reasoned”, the Supreme Court on Monday rejected a Maharashtra government application seeking a stay on their acquittal in the case.

A bench of justices B.R. Gavai and Sandeep Mehta, however, admitted the state government’s appeal against the March 5 order of the High Court.

The bench also rejected the oral request of Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, appearing for the Maharashtra government, for early listing of the appeal and said it will come up for hearing in due course of time.

“There cannot be any urgency to reverse the order of acquittal. Had it been the other way around, we would have considered,” the bench told Raju and asked him to file for expeditious hearing at a later stage.

“Prima facie, we find that the High Court order is well reasoned,” the bench said, with Justice Mehta adding, “it is a hard-earned acquittal. How many years has this man spent in jail?”

Justice Gavai said there are two-acquittal orders by two different benches of the High Court, and in the first order, the apex court had interfered.

“Normally, we would have dismissed this appeal, but since this court has earlier interfered with the acquittal order, we will have to honour that and hence we are admitting the appeal for hearing. Otherwise, this is a very well-reasoned judgment by the High Court. In ordinary course, we would not have entertained this appeal. The parameters of interference with acquittal orders are very limited,” the bench said.

The bench said, “Law is that there is always presumption of innocence, and if there is acquittal order, then the presumption of innocence is fortified.”