2 TISS professors get police notices after court rejects ex-student’s anticipatory bail

On Monday, the Mumbai Police sent formal notices to two Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) professors, as part of an investigation into suspicious messages allegedly sent to a 32-year-old former student. The student was arrested on August 7, 2025, for attending an event without permission, which was connected to the death anniversary of former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba.

The former masters student was granted police custody for a day following the rejection of his anticipatory bail plea by a sessions court on August 7. The court held that the student and another individual had downloaded books written by members of an outlawed organization and had raised slogans supporting the release of fellow prisoners Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who have been incarcerated since 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Seven other TISS students were granted pre-arrest bail. The police want to verify the locations where the student visited for "fieldwork," including Palghar, Nerul, and Trombay, with detailed reports sent to the institute. Special public prosecutor Shishir Hirey sought three days of custody, stating that police aim to investigate if any of the professors advised the accused.

He also questioned the deletion of a Signal app group chat and India's nuclear policy, claiming a probe was necessary to prevent undermining of India's economic power and establishments. The defense lawyers argued that the fieldwork is mandatory for the institute's course, and the reports are uploaded on the institute's website.

They also pointed out that Signal app is not banned, and police had not previously requested the retrieval of deleted chats from the platform. The accused had attended the Crime Branch office 10 times in 2025 before filing an anticipatory bail plea, which was denied ten months later. The student's lawyers claimed that the arrest was intended to send a message through student protests. The TISS administration did not respond to calls for comment.