Saibaba event: Another former TISS student gets Mumbai Police notice

Days after a magistrate court granted bail to a former student of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in a case related to his alleged participation in a gathering to mark the death anniversary of former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba in 2025, the Mumbai Police has now sent a notice to another former student in the same case.

The notice in connection with an FIR filed nearly a year ago, was issued last week, directing the former student to remain present before the investigating agency for interrogation. The person was not named in the initial FIR.

On September 10, the magistrate court granted bail to a 30-year-old student, over a month after his arrest in connection with a gathering held on October 12, 2025, at the institute’s Deonar campus. The notice issued to another former student was under section 35 (3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

The Trombay police had filed an FIR in October 2025, naming nine persons — all students at the institute then — for the gathering, based on the complaint of an associate dean. It was alleged that the students had gathered to pay homage to Saibaba, without permission from the institute.

Saibaba, a former Delhi University professor, was convicted in 2017 on allegations of being a Maoist but was acquitted by the Bombay High Court in 2024. The nine had then filed anticipatory bail pleas before the sessions court.

While they were granted interim protection pending hearing, orders on the pleas came only on August 7 this year, with anticipatory bail granted to seven, while denied to two. Of the two, one of the former students was arrested the same day.

Police alleged that slogans were raised seeking Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam’s release; and that they possessed downloaded books and other material that the prosecution said reflected Maoist ideology.