TISS Ex-Student Gets Bail in Saibaba Tribute Case. What Court Said on Maoist Literature & Academic Freedom
Alfreza Ahmed | 11 September 2026 | The Print
New Delhi: After spending a month in jail, former Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) student Abhirup Paul got bail from a Mumbai magistrate court in the case related to a memorial event held for late Delhi University professor G.N.Saibaba.
On Thursday, the court stressed that the investigation was already ongoing for a considerable period without producing substantive evidence and that the allegations of commemorating Saibaba’s death anniversary and raising slogans could not, by themselves, constitute an offence.
It further noted that the books recovered from his devices were not banned and could be read for academic knowledge.
The magistrate reasoned that granting bail to the postgraduate student was necessary to safeguard his career, especially when the investigation had produced no incriminating material beyond suspicion. Continued custody in such circumstances would be unjust, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Dattatray Shankarrao Khedekar said.