Archive · 13 Aug 2026
Bombay HC to Hear Bail Plea in Saibaba Slogans Case
A young man who used to study at a big college in Mumbai is asking a court to make sure he will not be arrested.
Police filed a case against him and some other students.
They had held a small gathering near a hostel to remember a professor who had died a year earlier.
At the gathering, people lit candles, read poems, and shouted some words.
The police say some students shouted very serious slogans asking for two jailed activists to be set free.
The young man says that no one shouted anything bad and the police case is not fair.
A lower court said he could not be protected, but it allowed seven other students to be free.
Now the Bombay High Court, a higher court, will hear his side on Friday.
The court will decide whether he can be free while the case continues.
The Bombay High Court will hear former TISS student Kamakhya Das's anticipatory bail plea on Friday.
Das faces an FIR over allegedly inflammatory slogans raised at an unauthorised gathering marking G N Saibaba's first death anniversary at the TISS Mumbai campus.
The slogans allegedly demanded the release of jailed activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, both accused under UAPA.
A Mumbai sessions court denied Das bail while granting anticipatory bail to seven other accused in the case.
Das denies the allegations, arguing that possessing ideological literature is not a crime and that he had co-operated with the investigation.
- Who
- Kamakhya Das, a 24-year-old former Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) student, with the Bombay High Court hearing his case under Justice Prafulla Khubalkar.
- What
- An anticipatory bail plea in an FIR over alleged inflammatory slogans raised at an unauthorised tribute gathering for G N Saibaba at the TISS Mumbai campus.
- When
- Reported August 13, 2026; the hearing is scheduled for Friday.
- Where
- Mumbai, India — the Bombay High Court; the incident occurred at the TISS Mumbai campus.
- Why
- A Mumbai sessions court rejected Das's anticipatory bail plea, prompting him to approach the High Court for relief.
Prosecution's Position
Accused's Defense
Inflammatory slogans at memorial gathering
Prosecution's Position
Around 10-12 students gathered without permission and raised inflammatory slogans, including demands to release jailed UAPA-accused activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, making out offences such as unlawful assembly and promoting enmity.
Accused's Defense
No student raised inflammatory slogans; the allegations are 'untrue' and 'completely unreliable', and offences such as unlawful assembly and promoting enmity are not made out.
Maoist literature and cooperation with probe
Prosecution's Position
Books published by CPI (Maoist) members were found on Das's devices, some information had been deleted, and he did not cooperate with the investigation.
Accused's Defense
Mere possession or reading of literature of a particular ideology is not a crime, and Das co-operated, having been questioned for 12 to 15 hours over 10 months.
- Accused seeking bail
- Kamakhya Das, a 24-year-old Development Studies graduate and former TISS student
- Court
- Bombay High Court (Justice Prafulla Khubalkar)
- Hearing
- Scheduled for Friday
- Case
- FIR over alleged inflammatory slogans at an unauthorised tribute gathering for G N Saibaba at the TISS Mumbai campus
- Alleged slogans
- Demands for release of jailed activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, both UAPA accused
- FIR registration
- Registered at Trombay police station; transferred to the Crime Branch
- Gathering
- About 10-12 students near a hostel, without permission; candles, poems and slogans
- Earlier ruling
- Sessions court denied anticipatory bail to Das; granted it to seven other accused