3 min readNew DelhiOct 14, 2024 04:28 AM IST
First published on: Oct 13, 2024 at 02:11 PM IST
Former Delhi University (DU) professor Dr G N Saibaba, who passed away at the age of 57 in Hyderabad on Saturday, had been acquitted in an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act case in March after a decade in jail. However, he had been continuing another legal fight in the Delhi High Court for his reinstatement at Ram Lal Anand (RLA) College.
Dr Saibaba was terminated as an assistant professor at the college in March 2021. He had been teaching English there since 2003. He was suspended in 2014 after being arrested by the Maharashtra Police on May 9 of that year for suspected Maoist links but continued receiving 50% of his salary after that. But on March 31, 2021, RLA College’s principal Rakesh Kumar Gupta issued a memorandum terminating his services with immediate effect, paying him three months’ salary.
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.
In July 2021, Dr Saibaba moved the Delhi High Court, challenging his termination and seeking an ex-parte interim stay on the order of his termination. 
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