Bombay HC grants relief to ex-TISS student in Saibaba event case over raising slogans for Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam

A single-judge bench of justice Prafulla Khubalkar granted Kamakhya Prasad Das protection from arrest till August 31, when the matter will be heard next

The Bombay High Court on Friday granted interim protection from arrest to a former Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) student accused of raising inflammatory slogans during an unauthorised campus event held last October to mark the death anniversary of the late Delhi University professor and human rights activist GN Saibaba.

The case is related to an allegedly unauthorised event held at TISS last October to mark the death anniversary of the late Delhi University professor and human rights activist GN Saibaba. (HT PHOTO)

A single-judge bench of Justice Prafulla Khubalkar granted Kamakhya Prasad Das protection from arrest till August 31, when the matter will be heard next.

According to the prosecution, Das was among the group of students who organised an unauthorised memorial for Saibaba on October 12 last year. During the event, Das and other students allegedly raised slogans seeking the release of jailed activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who are accused in the 2020 Delhi riots case.

On August 7, a sessions court granted anticipatory bail to seven of the nine accused students but denied pre-arrest bail to Das and another student, Abhirup Paul. The judge stated that shouting slogans in support of individuals whose bail was rejected by the Supreme Court failed to show respect for the “law of the land”. Das then challenged the decision in the high court.

The case stems from an FIR registered at the Trombay police station, based on a complaint filed by the TISS administration. The nine students were booked for unlawful assembly, promoting enmity between different groups, making imputations prejudicial to national integration and provocation with intent to cause a riot, among other offences.

Inflammatory slogans raised

The TISS administration alleged that the students had displayed photographs of Saibaba, lit candles, read his poems and raised inflammatory slogans. The investigation, initially conducted by Trombay police, was subsequently transferred to the Crime Investigation Department.

According to the prosecution, the students had organised the event without permission from the TISS administration. It said that the event was held to pay homage to an “alleged supporter of the Naxalite and Maoist organisation”.

On August 7, a sessions court granted relief to seven students. Das and Paul were denied relief due to allegations that they were in possession of books and literature published by the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and were not cooperating with the investigation, thereby requiring their custodial interrogation.

Das moved the high court on August 10, through advocates Vijay Hiremath and Rishika Agarwal, stating that the case against him was completely false. The plea said the students had read two poems authored by Saibaba “in the spirit of acknowledging Saibaba’s struggles as a disabled person, who underwent long incarceration, and was eventually acquitted”.

Das claimed that a TISS security guard present at the event had photographed the students and uploaded the pictures on social media. Several users subsequently tagged the Mumbai police in the post, “pressuring them to take action against those who had done nothing but express their sympathies for a deceased, disabled professor who promoted social equality and harmony for all,” the plea said.

Das also disputed the allegation that students raised slogans seeking the release of Khalid and Imam. “Even if the students had raised such slogans, the same is not a criminal offence under any provision of the Indian law,” the plea said, adding that the event was peaceful.

On the allegation that he possessed banned Maoist literature, Das argued that downloading books did not make him their author or establish his affiliation with a banned organisation. The plea described the FIR as an “attempt by the State and the institute to muzzle the students from raising any voices for any social cause,” which goes against the grain of fundamental rights.

Saibaba, who had been accused of links with outlawed Maoist organisations, was acquitted of all charges by the Bombay High Court in March 2024 after spending seven years in prison. His prolonged incarceration had severely affected his health. He died in October 2024 from post-operative complications following surgery for gallstones.