The Maharashtra government immediately approached the Supreme Court against the same.
The top court subsequently held a special sitting on October 15, 2022 (a Saturday) and suspended the High Court’s decision.
The order was passed by a bench of Justices MR Shah and Bela M Trivedi after the Maharashtra government contended that failure to grant sanction cannot lead to acquittal in view of Section 465 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Subsequently, after a lengthy hearing, a bench of the top court comprising Justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar on April 19, 2023, set aside the High Court acquittal judgment and remanded the matter to the High Court for fresh consideration.
It then came to be heard by Justices Joshi and Menezes.
Interestingly, Justice Rohit Deo of the High Court who had acquitted Saibaba, resigned as High Court judge on August 2, 2023
Source: Barandbench
