A former student of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences has sought anticipatory bail from the Bombay High Court in a case alleging that he shouted slogans in support of jailed activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam at an event in October, Bar and Bench reported on Thursday.

On August 7, a Mumbai court denied anticipatory bail to Kamakhya Das and his fellow student, Abhirup Paul, in the case. Paul was arrested by the Mumbai Police hours later.

In his petition, Das submitted that no person present at the event had shouted slogans in support of Khalid and Imam. He described the complaint as based on “untrue events and allegations” and “completely unreliable”, the legal news outlet reported.

Khalid and Imam have been in jail for more than five years under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for their alleged role in a conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots. The trial in the case has not yet begun, and their petitions for regular bail have been repeatedly rejected.

Das and Paul had also been booked for possessing downloaded books and other material that the prosecution alleged reflected Maoist ideology.

Das’s petition said that possessing such literature “is not a criminal offence” and that downloading it did not make him its author or establish that he was affiliated with a banned organisation or subscribed to its ideology.

The petition also said that the grave allegations and charges made out against the applicant such as that of unlawful assembly and promoting enmity between groups on religious grounds were not supported by facts. It also rejected the allegation that he had participated in the gathering to implement his “alleged ideology of Maoism on other students of the institute” as “complete bogus”.

Justice Prafulla Khubalkar has listed the matter for hearing on Saturday.

The case

In October, some students of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences gathered on campus to light candles and display posters of former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba commemorating his death anniversary.

Saibaba, who had more than 90% disability and used a wheelchair, spent over seven years in jail on accusations of having links with Maoists. In March 2024, he was acquitted by the Bombay High Court and released. Seven months later, in October 2024, he died of post-operative complications in Hyderabad.

After the event, the police registered a case against the students who attended it based on a complaint filed by the institute’s administration. The first information report invoked charges including causing prejudice to the nation, promoting enmity between groups and participating in an unlawful assembly.

Seven other students booked in connection with the event were granted anticipatory bail on August 7. While granting them bail, the court said that paying homage to Saibaba was not unlawful. However, it said allegations that the students had shouted slogans in support of Khalid and Imam, along with material recovered from their electronic devices, weighed against granting them anticipatory bail.

Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.

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