A Mumbai Periods Court docket has rejected the anticipatory bail pleas of two college students of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). The scholars had been accused of elevating slogans searching for the discharge of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam throughout a gathering on the institute’s campus final yr.
The court docket, nonetheless, granted anticipatory bail to seven different college students within the case.
The 2 college students whose pleas had been rejected are a 32-year-old resident of Govandi and a 23-year-old resident of Deonar. The order was handed by Choose VB Bohra, who noticed that, being college students, the accused had been anticipated to “respect the regulation of the land”.
The case pertains to a gathering held at TISS on October 12, 2025, to pay homage to G N Saibaba, who died in October 2024. Based on the FIR, round 10 to 12 college students had gathered close to a hostel between 7.30 pm and eight.30 pm with out prior permission from the institute administration.
The police stated that slogans together with “Umar Khalid ko riha karo” and “Sharjeel Imam ko riha karo” had been raised throughout the gathering. The FIR initially named 9 individuals and others, and the investigation was later transferred from Trombay police to the Crime Investigation Division (CID).
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE TISS GATHERING?
Based on the prosecution, the scholars organized images of Saibaba, positioned them on a tree, lit candles, learn poems written by him and displayed placards bearing the phrases “Relaxation in Energy (since 1967-forever)”.
The prosecution stated that the gathering went past merely paying homage to Saibaba, with college students additionally elevating slogans demanding the discharge of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, each of whom are going through proceedings below the Illegal Actions (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The court docket famous that paying homage to Saibaba couldn’t, by itself, be termed unlawful, significantly since he had been acquitted by the Bombay Excessive Court docket in 2024. Nonetheless, the choose stated the alleged actions on the gathering appeared to have gone past paying tribute to him.
“It was not the platform for elevating such slogans,” the court docket noticed, noting that the slogans had been allegedly raised throughout a gathering on campus fairly than at a public agitation or procession.
COURT CITES MATERIAL SEIZED DURING PROBE
In the course of the investigation, police seized digital units, together with laptops and cellphones, from the accused.
Based on the prosecution, investigators discovered books and different materials printed by members of the Communist Occasion of India (Maoist) saved on units belonging to one of many college students whose bail plea was rejected and one other co-accused.
The prosecution additionally alleged that some info had been deleted from the units.
The choose noticed that the fabric allegedly recovered throughout the investigation indicated that the accused could have been influenced by Maoist ideology. The court docket stated the gathering might have been a part of an try and affect different college students on the institute.
Nonetheless, the choose additionally made an vital distinction, observing that merely downloading Maoist publications could not, by itself, represent an offence. The court docket stated the fabric however needed to be examined within the context of the opposite allegations in opposition to the scholars.
COURT CITES CUSTODIAL INTERROGATION AS REASON BEHIND BAIL DENIAL
The court docket stated custodial interrogation of the 2 college students was needed to find out their intentions, significantly in mild of the alleged slogans searching for the discharge of Khalid and Imam and the fabric recovered throughout the investigation.
The choose additionally famous that the accused allegedly didn’t absolutely cooperate with investigators on sure materials features of the probe.
The court docket particularly referred to the Govandi scholar’s alleged affiliation with the Progressive Pupil Discussion board, which the prosecution claimed had been working in opposition to the institute administration. The prosecution additional alleged that strain had been placed on the complainant via social media and that one of many witnesses had been threatened.
The court docket additionally took observe of a separate non-cognisable case allegedly registered in opposition to the Deonar scholar in reference to an incident through which she was accused of threatening a police officer in 2025.
Based on the court docket, the Govandi scholar had allegedly not solely downloaded Maoist literature however had additionally visited a number of areas as a part of fieldwork. The choose stated his custodial interrogation was needed to establish the aim behind downloading the fabric and to look at whether or not it had any reference to the alleged slogans raised at TISS.
WHAT COURT SAID ON DELAY IN TRIALS
The choose additionally addressed the accused’s submissions questioning the delay within the felony proceedings.
The court docket stated felony trials must observe established procedures and famous that delays can happen for a number of causes, together with the heavy pendency of circumstances and the imbalance between the variety of judges and the amount of circumstances.
The choose identified that he himself was passing orders on the scholars’ anticipatory bail functions greater than 9 months after that they had been filed.
Whereas the court docket stated that utilizing the phrase “Relaxation in Energy” on campus with out permission was not, by itself, a criminal offense, it stated the circumstances surrounding the gathering, the alleged slogans and the fabric recovered throughout the investigation raised questions in regards to the accused individuals’ intentions.
The 2 college students will due to this fact not obtain the safety of anticipatory bail, whereas seven different accused college students have been granted the aid. Additional investigation into the case is underway.
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