A Mumbai court has granted bail to Abhirup Paul, a former student at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences arrested for allegedly shouting slogans in support of jailed activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, Bar and Bench reported on Friday.Paul had been arrested on August 7, hours after he and a batchmate were denied anticipatory bail by a sessions court. They have also been booked for possessing downloaded books and other material that the prosecution alleged reflected Maoist ideology.At the time, the court had granted anticipatory bail to seven other students of the institute, who had been booked after taking part in an event in October 2025 commemorating the death anniversary of former Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba.Saibaba, who had more than 90% disability and used a wheelchair, spent over seven years in jail on accusations of having links with Maoists. In March 2024, he was acquitted by the Bombay High Court and released. Seven months later, in October 2024, he died of post-operative complications in Hyderabad.The police had filed the case against the students who attended the event based on a complaint by the institute’s administration. The first information report invoked charges of causing prejudice to the nation, causing enmity between groups and participating in unlawful assembly, among others.On August 7, the sessions court said that while paying homage to Saibaba was not unlawful, the allegations that the students had shouted slogans in support of Khalid and Imam, along with the material recovered from their electronic devices, weighed against granting them anticipatory bail.Khalid and Imam have been in jail for more than five years under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for their alleged role in a conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots. The trial in the case has not yet begun, and their petitions for regular bail have been repeatedly rejected.On Thursday, the additional chief judicial magistrate observed that Paul had spent sufficient time in custody for interrogation, even as there was no evidence linking him to any Maoist or banned organisations, Bar and Bench reported.The court observed that downloading Maoist books and shouting slogans on campus in support of jailed activists did not amount to activities against the country. An inference of the student being a Maoist cannot be drawn from the same, the bench added.Paul has denied having shouted the slogans.Keeping the student in custody on mere suspicion is unjust and would be detrimental to his career, the magistrate was quoted as saying.The court directed that Paul be released on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh, The Indian Express reported. He was also ordered to mark his presence before the police once a week till the chargesheet is filed in the matter.Edited by Sara Varghese.Also read: Why is the BJP scared of displays of support for Umar Khalid?