TISS student booked in G N Saibaba-related event case moves HC for pre-arrest bail

MUMBAI: A former Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) student has moved the high court seeking pre-arrest bail in connection with the campus memorial for former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba

MUMBAI: A former Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) student has moved the high court seeking pre-arrest bail in connection with the campus memorial for former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba.

Kamakhya Prasad Das filed the plea through advocates Vijay Hiremath and Rishika Agarwal, disputing the allegation that students raised slogans seeking the release of jailed activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam and arguing that possession of Maoist literature cannot by itself make him criminally liable.

The move comes after the sessions court granted anticipatory bail to seven of the nine students accused in the case but denied relief to Das and Abhirup Paul, who has been arrested by the police.

In Das’s case, the sessions court also relied on the allegation that he had raised slogans seeking the release of Khalid and Imam, saying that his intention in doing so had to be considered alongside the material allegedly found on his devices.

The plea goes further, arguing that even if such slogans had been raised, they would not amount to a criminal offence. “Even in arguendo, if the students had raised such slogans, even though it is emphasised that they had not, the same is not a criminal offence under any provision of the Indian law,” it says.

On the Maoist literature charge, Das argued that downloading books did not make him their author or establish affiliation with a banned organisation. The plea says he is a social sciences student who has read widely on social and political issues, and that “the applicant, as a young individual, has the constitutional right to read books of any ideology, and the mere possession of such ideology is not a criminal offence.”

Das also challenged the need for custodial interrogation, saying he was questioned twice by the Trombay police and three times by the Crime Branch, with each interrogation lasting two to three hours, amounting to 12 to 15 hours of questioning over 10 months. He argued that the repeated questioning showed there was no need to arrest him.

The high court challenge comes after the sessions court held that paying homage to Saibaba, who was acquitted by the Bombay high court before his death, could not by itself be termed illegal. It nevertheless found additional allegations against Das and Paul sufficient to warrant custodial interrogation.

Notably, the court also recorded an allegation that co-accused Yash Kaundilya had raised the slogans mentioned in the FIR, but granted him anticipatory bail after finding no other incriminating material against him and noting his cooperation with investigators.

The plea was filed on August 10, three days after the sessions court rejected Das’ application. It is expected to be heard on Friday.