Since the Gadchiroli Sessions Court judgment sentenced her husband to life imprisonment under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, Vasantha Kumari was ready to rampage. “We have not found justice in this judgment,” she told Newslaundry on March 8 in her Vasant Vihar residence in Delhi. Professor GN Saibaba, along with JNU student Hem Mishra, former journalist Prashant Rahi and three others, were found guilty of “Maoist links.”

In 2013, Saibaba was blindfolded and bundled into a van by Maharashtra police dressed in plain clothes. Their warrant was for ‘stolen property’. Since then he has been in and out of jail cells, including a nine-month stay in the horrifying anda cell usually reserved for high-risk criminals like Ajmal Kasab. Saibaba’s health has suffered drastically in the time that he’s spent in prison and last year, he was granted unconditional bail by the Supreme Court.

The defence had argued that the prosecution’s witness had been “managed” and “tutored” by the police. The prosecution, on the other hand, countered by arguing that the witness was provided with police protection as he was staying in Gadchiroli, which was a Naxalite-affected area.

Vasantha is not done. They plan to appeal the sentence in the High Court.

While the prosecution has argued that Saibaba is a hardened anti-national, Vasantha remains steadfast that her husband is innocent and that her family has been mistreated by the state. From the raids that have been conducted in their home to the way the case progressed at the sessions’ court, at every point Saibaba has been treated unfairly, Vasantha said.

Saibaba was due to undergo vital surgery in a few weeks, failing which his life is at risk, Vasantha feared. She argued that the work her husband has done has been important and despite the state’s accusations, many people have been inspired by him and support him. This sentence is not the end she insists.