Kerala High Court Grants Pre-Arrest Bail To 17 SFI Activists Booked For Assaulting University VC Ciza Thomas
The Kerala High Court on Friday (September 11) granted anticipatory bail to 17 SFI activists and students of Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady for allegedly restraining and assaulting their Vice-Chancellor Dr. Ciza Thomas during a campus protest. [2026 LiveLive (Ker) 496]
A detailed order is awaited.
Dr. Justice Kauser Edappagath passed the order granting bail to the students, who are arrayed as the accused in the crime registered by the Kalady Police.
The prosecution allegation was that the petitioners and other SFI activists unlawfully assembled at the Administrative Block of the university on August 13 and conducted a symbolic funeral procession for Dr. Thomas as per the Christian religious rites. It is further alleged that later in the day, these persons wrongfully restrained and confined Dr. Thomas, her staff members and syndicate members when they were leaving after attending the syndicate meeting of the University, and thereafter pushed, assaulted, caused hurt and grabbed her hair. Another allegation was that the petitioners damaged her vehicle.
The offences alleged against them are those under Sections 189(2) [Unlawful assembly], 191(2) [Rioting], 126(2) [Wrongful restraint], 115(2) [Voluntarily causing hurt], 121(1) [Voluntarily causing hurt or grievous hurt to deter public servant from his duty], 127(2) [Wrongful confinement], 74 [Assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty], 132 [Assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty] and 190 [Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object] of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
After their anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the Sessions Court, Ernakulam, they approached the High Court contending that they are innocent. They stated that they have been conducting peaceful protests for many days since July 22 against the administrative shortcomings of the University and that the alleged incident occurred on the 23rd day of the protests.
They have further pointed out that another FIR was registered by the police on the same day in which the defacto complainant was the sub-inspector and the only allegation was that they formed an unlawful assembly and restrained the VC and Syndicate members between 4:30 pm to 7:40 pm. According to the petitioners, even as per this prior FIR, police were present at the campus from 4.40 pm itself as well as the complainant SI but in the FIR registered at his instance, none of these subsequent allegations were there.
"addition of further grave allegations made by the Vice Chancellor is only the result of an after thought and malicious intention to wreak vengeance and pressurize the students and SFI activists who conducted peaceful campaigns and protests against the University's administrative shortcomings and the Vice Chancellor's ignorance to the issues. It is therefore that there is an unexplained delay of 3 days in foisting a complaint and registering the...FIR," the petitioners have added.
On September 3, the Court had granted them interim protection from arrest.
Case No: Bail Appl. 5032/2026
Case Title: Archana P.S. and Ors. v. State of Kerala
Citation: 2026 LiveLive (Ker) 496
Counsel for the petitioners: P.K. Varghese, K.S. Arun Kumar, Jerry Mathew, Rameez M. Azeez, Devika K.R., Sawparnika Raju, and Bharath R.