The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday asked Nagpur jail authorities and police officials to expeditiously process the parole application of former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba.

Prof. Saibaba, who is serving a life sentence at the prison for his alleged Maoist links, had moved the court seeking parole to visit his terminally ill mother in Hyderabad. The application was filed by the professor’s brother on his behalf.

Senior advocate Mihir Desai, appearing for Prof. Saibaba, said the request was filed on April 2 and as per the guidelines, the application has to be referred for police inquiry within six days for verification. Mr. Desai said Prof. Saibaba’s mother lives in Hyderabad, and the inquiry has to be completed by the police in Andhra Pradesh within a period of 38 days, which ends on May 10.

The Bench of Justice Vinay Joshi said, “There is no dispute that in the current scenario, the respondents are facing a difficult time to obtain the report. The authorities shall endeavour to obtain the report and process the application expeditiously.”

The court has posted the matter for further hearing on May 5.