A 90% paralysed professor suffers inside one of India's harshest prison cells. Will the courts hear his plea?
GN Saibaba is a professor of English at Delhi University. He’s also 90% disabled and has been imprisoned for over 17 months.
He has been accused by the Maharashtra government of associating with the CPI (Maoist), that was banned in 2009. His trial is ongoing.
His disability, due to childhood polio, forces him to crawl on his hands and knees in the prison to use the hole built in the cell’s floor as a bathroom. Due to this, he has slowly lost the use of his left hand. He now has only one functioning limb.
A student of Professor Saibaba writes:
“For some reason, almost every student in my batch chose Latin and Greek studies over the Indian paper leaving me as the only student in the course. With his driver helping him move his wheelchair inside the disabled-unfriendly campus, Saibaba had to come to the university to address a class of exactly one student. He was never late and he never missed a lecture.” (Martand Kaushik, Times of India)
Chapter 1: Trouble with the Government
The government has charged Saibaba under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) — Sections 13, 18, 20, 38 and 39. The primary charge is: “the applicant who is an intellectual has used his intelligentsia [sic] for anti-national activities”.
His supporters, though, hold that he is really being targeted for his critique of the government’s 2009 anti-Naxal campaign called ‘Operation Greenhunt’. They claim that under the pretext of removing Naxals, the government’s real objective had been to push Adivasis out and free land for industrial projects.
Arun Ferreira and Binayak Sen had been imprisoned on similar charges – Sen’s case became an international human rights issue, and Ferreira was eventually released as innocent after spending five years in prison as an undertrial.
Saibaba was born into a peasant family and lived in a neighbourhood of manual scavengers. His upbringing possibly shaped his critique of politics and literature: his PhD was on elite bias in English writing in India. Here he is seen receiving his degree from the President of India.
Chapter 2: Where it starts to sound Kafka-esque
One afternoon, on his way home from the University, Saibaba was blindfolded and bundled into a van by Maharashtra police dressed in plain clothes. Their warrant was for ‘stolen property’. Neither his family nor lawyers were informed of the arrest and, in the raid conducted on his home, his laptop and other belongings were taken, while his family was kept locked out of the room.
There is little clarity about the exact evidence against Saibaba, most of which seems to come from the mention of his name by another arrested accused.
For this association with CPI (Maoist), which is yet to be proven in court, he has been kept in Nagpur’s Anda Cell– an airless, windowless, egg-shaped room, whose previous inhabitants have included Ajmal Kasab (Mumbai Taj attacks), Abdul Telgi (Telgi stamp scam) and Sanjay Dutt (1993 Bombay blasts).
Saibaba after his arrest: “Whether right or wrong, I have to follow the judicial process.”
The Committee for the Defense and Release of GN Saibaba and students of DU have helped organised protests and bring notice to this issue. Prashant Bhushan has spoken out for Saibaba and Justice Markandey Katju haswritten fiercely about it. In a strange reaction, however, the Bombay HC served Arundhati Roy with a Contempt of Court notice for her article on Saibaba’s case in Outlook.
Chapter 3: One court gives bail, another cancels it.
For the first 14 months, Saibaba was denied bail three times by the Nagpur Bench (regional branch of the Bombay High Court).
In June last year, the main bench of the Bombay High Court ordered Saibaba to be released on bail because his medical condition had drastically deteriorated.
After this bail order, the case was transferred back to the Nagpur bench.
Reportedly disagreeing with the main bench’s interference, the Nagpur bench denied bail and ordered Saibaba back into prison within 48 hours.
Main Bench – Bombay High Court (June 2015): “Releasing Professor Saibaba on bail for a period of three months for medical treatment would not cause any threat or risk to the security of the Nation.”
Nagpur Bench (December 2015): “Sometimes the matters from the Benches are transferred to the principal seat at Mumbai with or without any motion in a sudden move without recording any reasons or without any notice to any of the parties, much less, upon consultation with the presiding judge or judges of such a Bench from which the transfer of the cases is effected. This is undermining the authority of the judges at the Benches.”
Chapter 4: Supreme Court responds
Saibaba submitted himself back to prison on Christmas last December. After his indictment, Delhi University cut his salary by 50% and asked him and his family to vacate university accommodation.
As Saibaba’s condition continued to worsen, his lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court for bail.
The Supreme Court responded in February last month; they asked the Gadchiroli court where the trial was being conducted to hold proceedings on a daily basis — rather than on staggered dates — and complete key witness interviews soon.
They further said they may consider granting him bail at the next hearing on April4, 2016.
Last Chapter – End #1
No bail, hence trial may continue or Saibaba may die
Saibaba has been denied bail so far for two possible reasons: the Maharashtra government claims he may be a threat if out of jail, and because he seems to be caught in a debate of autonomy between the Nagpur bench and the main bench of the Bombay High Court.
With a history of a heart condition and previous cardiac arrest, the jail doctor has advised angioplasty as critical to his survival. With multiple heart, kidney, and spine complications, a 90% disability, and debilitating conditions within the Anda cell, Saibaba may likely die within prison, as per the Central Indian Institute of Medical Sciences.
This would be under the watch of the court.
If proven innocent at the end of his trial, what would his death amount to?
Last Chapter – End #2
Trial continues, with Saibaba on bail
The other outcome is that the trial continues, and Saibaba is permitted bail through its duration.
This is something he is legally entitled to on medical and humanitarian grounds, and what the Bombay High Court ordered Saibaba be granted last year.
India has ratified the UN convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) that says “States Parties shall ensure effective access to justice for persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others, including through the provision of procedural and age-appropriate accommodations.” (Article 13)
If the Supreme Court grants him bail on 4th April, 2016, Saibaba’s fate will be decided by the prudence of the court, rather than the punishing conditions of the Anda Cell.
Deciding the innocence or guilt of a man is the prerogative of the judiciary. Ensuring institutions function in line with human rights is the responsibility of citizens.
This article was republished from Newslaundry.com.