Kerala Court Grants Bail to Four SFI Activists in Sanskrit Varsity Protest Case

The Perumbavoor Judicial First Class Magistrate Court on Wednesday granted bail to four activists of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) arrested in connection with a protest at the Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit (SSUS) in Kalady on August 13. The protest had included an alleged symbolic funeral of Vice-Chancellor Ciza Thomas.

The bail was granted to Mebin Jose, 24, member of the SFI’s State committee; Basil Scaria, 29; Vijeesh, 23; and Yadhu Krishnan, 19. They were booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for offences including unlawful assembly (Section 189(2)), rioting (191(2)), wrongful restraint (126(2)), voluntarily causing hurt (115(2)), voluntarily causing grievous hurt (121(1)), wrongful confinement (127(2)), assault or use of criminal force against women (74), and assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging duty (132).

Two separate cases were registered in connection with the incident. The first was filed on August 13 based on a complaint by a police officer deployed on the campus during the protest. The second was registered on August 16 following a complaint by Vice-Chancellor Ciza Thomas.

After the court order, SFI State secretary P.S. Sanjeev alleged that the activists were granted bail because the case was fabricated. In a social media post, he demanded that Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and Higher Education Minister Roji M. John respond to the bail order and apologise to the students for what he called false allegations.

The SFI is the student wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and has been involved in a series of campus agitations at SSUS over administrative issues. The university, named after the philosopher Adi Sankara, has seen repeated confrontations between student groups and the administration in recent months.

The court’s decision does not conclude the legal proceedings, as the trial in the matter will continue. Further hearings are awaited.