Justice Prafulla Khubalkar agreed to hear Mr. Das’s plea seeking anticipatory bail on August 31 and provided him protection from arrest until then.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The Bombay High Court on Friday (August 14, 2026) granted protection from arrest to Kamakhya Prasad Das, a former student of TISS, who was booked for raising slogans calling for the release of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam.Justice Prafulla Khubalkar agreed to hear Mr. Das’s plea seeking anticipatory bail on August 31 and provided him protection from arrest until then. The court’s order came as a reprieve for the student who had been denied anticipatory bail by a lower court last week. Justice Khubalkar noted that the case required consideration and scheduled the matter for further hearing later this month, with the interim protection remaining in effect until the next hearing date.The Mumbai Police lodged an FIR in October 2025 against Mr. Das and several other students for participating in an event to pay homage to GN Saibaba. During the event, the students read out Saibaba’s poems and raised slogans for the release of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, both of whom are facing trial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.Additional Sessions Judge V.B. Bohra had denied anticipatory bail to Mr. Das and another student, Abhirup Paul (32), while granting anticipatory bail to five other students — Nikita Dsouza, Uttkarsh Khuntia, Yash Kaundilya, Avantika and Ishpreet Kaur. The judge observed that the Supreme Court had rejected bail applications of Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid, and as students, the accused were expected to respect the law of the land.The students argued that GN Saibaba had been acquitted in the UAPA case against him and contended that no offence was made out merely by saying “Sharjeel ko rha karo, Umar ko rha karo” (Release Sharjeel, Release Umar).The lower court judge, however, stated that while paying homage to Saibaba could not be termed illegal since he was acquitted, the accused students appeared to have gone beyond that. The judge observed that the act of the accused appeared to be not limited to paying him homage, as they allegedly raised slogans for releasing Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam from jail, who are facing trial for an offence under UAPA, which involves unlawful activities against the nation. The judge noted that the event was not a platform for raising such slogans, unlike a public agitation or procession, and emphasised that the accused, being students, were expected to respect the law of the land.The case, titled Kamakhiya Prasad Das v/s State of Maharashtra, will now be heard by the Bombay High Court on August 31, with the interim protection from arrest remaining in force for Das until that date.The lower court had earlier refused to grant bail to Abhirup Paul and Kamakhiya Prasad Das, who along with several other students were named in the FIR lodged in October 2025 by the Mumbai Police for participating in the event to pay homage to Saibaba and for reading out his poems and sloganeering to free Sharjeel and Umar. The High Court’s decision to grant interim protection marks a significant development in the case, as Mr. Das awaits the full hearing of his anticipatory bail application later this month. Published - August 15, 2026 05:32 am IST
