2 TISS professors get police notices after court rejects ex-student’s anticipatory bail
Source Entity
Sadaf Modak
The Mumbai Police have issued notices to two TISS professors amid an investigation into a former student arrested for unauthorized campus activities. The case involves allegations of links to banned organizations and controversial campus events.
Investigation Into TISS Campus Activities
The Mumbai Police have initiated a formal inquiry involving two professors from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) following the arrest of a 32-year-old former master's student. The investigation centers on "suspicious" messages, which authorities are examining as part of a broader probe into activities conducted on the campus in October 2025. This development follows a critical judicial decision by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate D.S. Khedekar, who granted police one-day custody of the former student after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by a sessions court.
Legal Context and Allegations
The legal proceedings against the former student are rooted in serious allegations regarding his conduct during a campus event. According to police reports, the individual was arrested on August 7, 2025, shortly after his anticipatory bail was denied. The court's decision to reject the bail plea was based on a prima facie assessment that the accused had downloaded literature associated with the banned organization CPI (Maoist). Furthermore, authorities have cited his involvement in raising slogans advocating for the release of former JNU students Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam as a core component of the case.
The Role of Academic Institutions
The involvement of TISS faculty members in this police investigation highlights the delicate intersection of academic freedom and national security. The event in question was reportedly held to mark the death anniversary of former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba. The police's decision to issue notices to the professors suggests that investigators are scrutinizing the institutional oversight of such gatherings and the nature of communications between faculty and students regarding these activities.
Judicial Oversight and Police Custody
Magistrate D.S. Khedekar's decision to grant one-day police custody underscores the court's willingness to allow law enforcement to pursue leads regarding potential ideological influence or organizational links. By emailing notices to the professors, the Mumbai Police are attempting to map the chain of events and communication that led to the unauthorized event. This procedural step is a standard, yet significant, part of the investigative process when probing potential violations of anti-terror or public order laws.
Broader Implications for Campus Discourse
This incident reflects broader, ongoing debates regarding the boundaries of student activism within Indian universities. When academic institutions become the site of protests or commemorations linked to controversial figures or banned organizations, law enforcement scrutiny often intensifies. The outcome of this specific investigation may set a precedent for how university administrations and faculty handle sensitive political commemorations, especially when those events involve former students who are no longer under the immediate purview of campus regulations.
Future Trends and Conclusion
As the investigation continues, the focus will likely remain on the content of the "suspicious" messages and whether they indicate any formal coordination or support for banned ideological activities. The case serves as a reminder of the heightened vigilance surrounding campus political activity in India. The academic community will be closely watching the legal outcomes, as the handling of this case could influence future policies regarding campus usage, guest access, and the scope of permissible speech within elite social science institutions.