G N Saibaba passes away: His legal fight for reinstatement as DU prof remains unresolved

A group of academics and writers, under the umbrella of ‘Committee for the Defence and Release of Dr G N Saibaba’, demanded the college reverse its decision and reinstate the professor. The DU Teachers’ Association (DUTA) at the time also wrote to the Vice-Chancellor, stating that “any action against Dr G N Saibaba should await the final decision of the Hon’ble High Court (of Bombay) in the matter of his appeal”.

In July 2021, Dr Saibaba moved the Delhi HC, challenging his termination, seeking his reinstatement and payment of back wages. He had also moved an application along with the plea, seeking an ex-parte interim stay on the order of his termination.

Ultimately, however, the application for interim relief was not pressed upon and was dismissed. The case continued to remain pending and was last taken up on September 30 this year before the court of Justice Jyoti Singh, where it was then relisted for consideration on November 12.

Advocate Jawahar Raja, representing Dr Saibaba, told The Indian Express that the plea, however, will not become infructuous because if the court “ultimately rules that his termination was bad (in law), the legal heirs will be entitled to the back wages till his passing”.

Dr Saibaba was served a show-cause notice regarding the termination of his services in June 2019. In November 2020, the college wrote again to Dr Saibaba’s wife, Vasantha, stating that he would be given 15 days to reply. She then replied, stating that Dr Saibaba was unable to reply because of ill health.

Dr Saibaba, who was wheelchair-bound, was acquitted by the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court on March 5 this year and released from Nagpur Central Jail on March 7. He died following post-operative complications after undergoing surgery for gallbladder stones. He had been undergoing treatment at Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad, where he was admitted 10 days earlier due to ill health.