Mumbai: Bombay High Court Refuses to Intervene in Suspension of TISS Student

Mumbai, 13th March 2025: In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court has declined to intervene in the suspension of Ramdas K. S., a PhD student at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), who was accused of alleged misconduct and anti-national activities. The court, comprising Justices Atul Chandurkar and Milind Sathe, observed that the case was not suitable for intervention and that Ramdas’s petition lacked factual basis.

Ramdas, a student at TISS’s School of Development Studies, was suspended for two years on 18th April 2023, following allegations of participating in a protest march against government policies in New Delhi and promoting a documentary during the Ram temple inauguration in Ayodhya. His scholarship was also revoked, leading to financial difficulties.

The TISS administration argued that Ramdas’s petition was not admissible as he had not exhausted the internal appeal process available to him. The institute also highlighted the establishment of a high-level committee to address student misconduct, which Ramdas could have approached before seeking legal recourse.

The decision has been met with opposition from some political parties and social media campaigns. However, TISS maintained that Ramdas used his influence and political connections to pressure the institution, which was countered by Ramdas’s claim of having no political affiliations.