GN Saibaba Event: TISS Students Face Ruined Careers, Mumbai Court Warns

Additional Sessions Judge Manoj B Oza on Monday (January 19) said that their participation in the event and the case against them could harm their job prospects and could create lasting difficulties in obtaining government as well as private employment. “You have a criminal record. Now your record is with the police; not just here but everywhere in the country. Your career is ruined,” the judge said. The made these observations while hearing the anticipatory bail applications filed by the students. The Court had earlier granted them interim protection from arrest. The same was extended on Monday. The nine students are named as accused in an FIR registered by Trombay police on the basis of a complaint submitted by an associate dean of TISS. The FIR cites provisions corresponding to unlawful assembly, promoting enmity between different groups and acting in a manner prejudicial to the nation, along with relevant clauses under the Maharashtra Police Act. It was filed after an event held on the TISS campus in Deonar on October 12, 2025 to mark Saibaba’s first death anniversary. Saibaba, who was 90 percent disabled and wheelchair-bound, was acquitted by the Bombay High Court in March 2024 after the court held that the sanction to prosecute him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was invalid. He passed away in October 2024, seven months after his release from prison. It is alleged by the police that slogans were raised at the event in support of jailed activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam. During the hearing, the Court questioned the students about their academic course and their family backgrounds, including whether their parents had been informed about the criminal case. The judge observed that registration of a criminal case at such an early stage in their lives could significantly hinder their careers, noting that employers, including those in the private sector, routinely insist on disclosure of any pending criminal proceedings.