‘Your career is ruined’: Judge warns TISS students booked over Saibaba death anniversary event
Sessions court grants interim protection from arrest to 9 students booked over Saibaba death anniversary event, but issues sharp oral remarks on future employment prospects.
An event was held on the TISS campus in Deonar on October 12, 2025 to mark the first death anniversary of former DU professor Saibaba. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons, enhanced with AI)
“You have a criminal record. Now your record is with the police — not just here but everywhere in the country. You know that you have made a blunder so early before your career starts. Your career is ruined,” Additional Sessions Judge Manoj B Oza said.
The nine students have been named in an FIR filed by the Trombay police, and the hearing on their anticipatory bail applications is pending before the sessions court. On Monday, judge Manoj B Oza addressed the students, who were standing in a line at the back of the courtroom.
“How many of you are from outside Maharashtra? You came to study in Maharashtra for all this? Your fathers know about the case? How many of your fathers are in government jobs? You will not get government jobs because of the case,” the judge told the students.
He added that even if they take up private employment, they would have to disclose the pending criminal case against them.
He then asked their lawyer about the programme the students were pursuing.
When told that they were enrolled in a Master’s in Social Work programme, the judge said their degrees would not help them secure employment. “You think you are scientists or engineers. Even engineers don’t have jobs,” he remarked.
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During the previous hearing on December 23, the special public prosecutor had pointed out that the students were not present in court. Their lawyer had then assured the court that they would remain present on Monday.
After addressing the students, the judge adjourned the hearing to later this month for arguments on their anticipatory bail pleas, while extending the interim protection granted earlier.
The anticipatory bail applications were filed in October 2025 after the Trombay police registered the FIR on a complaint filed by an associate dean of the institute. As part of the investigation, the students’ electronic devices, including their mobile phones and laptops, were seized.
The FIR pertains to an event held on the TISS campus in Deonar on October 12, 2025 to mark the first death anniversary of Saibaba.
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The 57-year-old had been acquitted by the Bombay High Court on March 5, 2024 which held that the sanction to prosecute him under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act was invalid. The High Court had set aside a 2017 sessions court order that had sentenced Saibaba to life imprisonment on charges of being an active member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).
Sadaf Modak is a distinguished Legal Correspondent based in Mumbai whose work demonstrates exceptional Expertise and Authority in covering the intricacies of the judicial and correctional systems. Reporting for The Indian Express, she is a highly Trustworthy source for in-depth coverage of courtroom proceedings and human rights issues.
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