Shows govt's intolerance, state of judiciary: Sibal on court denying bail to two ex-TISS students

On Monday, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal expressed his disappointment over the denial of anticipatory bail to two former Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) students, highlighting the government's intolerance and the poor state of the judiciary. The court in Mumbai refused bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam for attending an unauthorized campus gathering to pay respects to former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba and chanting slogans in support of undertrial prisoners Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam.

Sibal pointed out that the act of paying homage to Saibaba, who had been acquitted by the Bombay High Court in a Naxalism-related case, was not illegal. However, the court found it questionable that the students shouted slogans in favor of undertrials while conducting the homage, raising doubts about their conduct. The court also noted the use of the phrase "Rest in Power" instead of the customary "Rest in Peace," which they viewed as further evidence of the students' questionable intentions.

The court's decision to deny bail to only two of the 10-12 students involved was influenced by the presence of downloaded books related to the banned Communist Party of India and the students' WhatsApp chats, which allegedly revealed attempts to indoctrinate fellow students with Maoist ideology. The court deemed custodial interrogation necessary for Das and Paul to determine their intentions behind the downloaded materials and the slogans they raised during the gathering.