Had faith he would be acquitted: Saibaba's wife

"The last eight years have been the longest time we have stayed apart but I was sure that he would be acquitted one day," former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba's wife AS Vasantha Kumari said on Friday.

Saibaba was acquitted in a Maoist-links case by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court on Friday. The court also ordered his immediate release from jail.

A division bench of justices Rohit Deo and Anil Pansare also allowed an appeal filed by Saibaba challenging a 2017 trial court order convicting him and sentencing him to life imprisonment.

Saibaba, who is wheelchair-bound, is currently lodged in the Nagpur central prison.

"Sai and I are childhood friends. But in the last eight years, we were separated. This is the longest we have stayed apart," Vasntha Kumari told PTI.

Saibaba, who was serving as an assistant professor of English in Delhi University's Ram Lal Anand College, was also terminated from service by the college in March last year.

He was suspended by the college after his arrest by the Maharashtra Police in 2014. Saibaba's wife and daughter were receiving half the amount of his salary since his arrest but then, his service was terminated last year.

Asked how they coped with his absence, Vasantha Kumari said, "Don't ask! There was a lot of struggle and patience in the last eight years. It was difficult for Sai also since his health deteriorated and he lost his job."

However, she said they had faith that he would be acquitted one day.

"We had faith that he would be acquitted because he did not do anything wrong. There was no crime and no evidence. I am thankful to the judiciary and all those who supported us," Vasantha Kumari told PTI over phone.

The couple's daughter is currently pursuing MPhil from Jamia Millia Islamia.

Asked how they coped with his absence in the last eight eight years, Vasantha Kumari said, "Don't ask! There was a lot of struggle and patience involved in the last eight years. It was difficult for Sai also since his health deteriorated and he lost his job."

In March 2017, a sessions court in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district convicted Saibaba and other people, including a journalist and a Jawaharlal Nehru University student, for alleged Maoist links and for indulging in activities amounting to waging war against the country.

The court had held Saibaba and the others guilty under various provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code.