All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday blamed the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for the death of former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba.
“Prof Saibaba’s death is also deeply concerning,” Owaisi wrote on X. “His death was also partly a result of the UAPA that allows cops to keep you in prison for lengthy periods without any evidence.”
It is generally difficult to secure bail for someone charged with an offence under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, a law enacted in 1967 primarily to deal with terrorism.
Section 43D(5), added to the Act in 2008, requires persons accused of a crime to prove that the allegations against them are unreasonable to secure bail. It shifts the burden of proof onto the accused and undermines the presumption of innocence.
Saibaba died of post-operative complications at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Science in Hyderabad on Saturday.
Seven months earlier, he was acquitted in a case of alleged links with Maoists and was released from jail on March 7.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Sunday also denounced Saibaba’s death. The party said it held the Modi government “responsible for his demise”.
Saibaba was “a target and victim of the Modi government’s repressive policies, in which he was imprisoned for a decade”, the party said.
The party noted that the human rights activist was denied bail for years. “He was denied medical treatment urgently required for a person with such acute disabilities,” it said.
Saibaba spent over seven years in jail in the Maoist-links case after he was first arrested in May 2014. In an interview with Scroll after his release, the activist – who was differently abled and used a wheelchair – said he was denied adequate medical care and dignified living conditions in jail.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!