Bombay HC To Hear Former TISS Student’s Anticipatory Bail Plea In Saibaba Tribute Slogans Case

Mumbai, August 13, 2026: Kamakhya Das, a former student at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), has filed an anticipatory bail plea before the Bombay High Court in connection with a case concerning inflammatory slogans allegedly raised during an unauthorized campus gathering to commemorate the first death anniversary of G N Saibaba.

The slogans, according to the FIR registered at Trombay police station and later transferred to the Crime Branch, were said to have demanded the release of jailed activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who are currently accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The Mumbai sessions court had earlier rejected Das' anticipatory bail application, leading him to appeal to the High Court.

The matter was recently brought up for urgent hearing, and Justice Prafulla Khubalkar has agreed to hear the plea on Friday.

FIR Over Campus Gathering

An FIR has been lodged at the Trombay police station, which was later transferred to the Crime Branch. The FIR alleges that a group of 10-12 students assembled near a hostel without authorization to pay tribute to Saibaba through candle lighting, poem recitation, and the raising of slogans. However, Das maintains that none of the students raised any inflammatory statements.

He labels the allegations "untrue" and "completely unreliable," contending that offenses such as unlawful assembly and inciting enmity between communities are not proven. Observations from the Sessions Court

The sessions court initially granted anticipatory bail to seven other accused individuals, asserting that the allegations against them were limited and that custodial interrogation was not essential. However, the court denied relief to Das and another accused, asserting that their alleged offenses were more grave. The court also pointed out the presence of books published by CPI (Maoist) members on Das' devices and some information that had been deleted.

The prosecution had alleged that Das had not cooperated with the investigation. Das Denies Wrongdoing

Kamakhya Das has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. He contends that simply possessing or reading literature of a specific ideology does not constitute a criminal act. The plea states, "Mere possession of such ideology is not a criminal offence." Additionally, Das asserts that he has cooperated with the investigation, having been questioned for 12 to 15 hours over a span of 10 months. He argues that this demonstrates the unnecessary nature of custodial interrogation.