The Crossbill Team
Over a year after Dalit scholar Ramadas Prini Sivanandan was suspended by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, for participating in a protest rally against the Narendra Modi government, the Supreme Court has granted him relief, allowing him to resume his PhD studies.
A two-judge bench of the apex court, comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan, upheld the disciplinary action taken by TISS but directed that the suspension period be treated as already served.
The court observed that while the institute's action was legally valid and backed by documentary evidence, the interests of justice would be better served by permitting the scholar to continue his academic pursuits.
"Without examining the claims and counter-claims on merits, we feel that TISS having suspended the petitioner on 18th April, 2024 and lapsing of more than a year since then, interest of justice would be best served if the order of suspension is not continued further and he be permitted to pursue the PhD course in TISS. Ordered accordingly," the bench noted, reported Live Law.
Ramadas had been suspended on April 18, 2024, for a period of two years and was barred from entering any TISS campus. The suspension followed his participation in a protest on January 12, 2024, organized by the Progressive Students’ Forum (TISS-PSF) against the Modi government's National Education Policy (NEP). The event, named 'Parliament March', had called for rejecting the ruling BJP.
TISS also cited social media posts by Ramadas promoting the screening of Anand Patwardhan’s documentary Ram ke Naam as part of its justification for disciplinary action, based on a report submitted by its empowered committee.
Ramadas challenged the suspension in the Bombay High Court, arguing that it was rooted in caste-based discrimination and a violation of his right to freedom of expression. However, the high court dismissed his petition in March 2025, stating that the suspension was not the result of discrimination and was unrelated to the curbing of free speech.
According to Live Law, the high court had observed that the protest was politically motivated and that Ramadas had wrongly given the impression that the views expressed at the event represented those of the institute, thereby damaging TISS's reputation.
Following the high court's decision, Ramadas approached the Supreme Court.
On May 2, the top court ruled in his favour by reducing the duration of the suspension and permitting him to continue his PhD. The court maintained that while the disciplinary process had been legally sound, the larger cause of justice necessitated his reinstatement.
Ramadas, who first joined TISS in 2015 for a Master’s in Media and Cultural Studies, enrolled in the integrated M.Phil.-Ph.D. programme in Development Studies in 2018.
In 2023, he was awarded a National Fellowship for Scheduled Caste students by the Union Ministry of Social Justice based on his UGC-NET performance.
Reacting to the court’s verdict, Ramadas wrote in a Facebook post: “On the 366th day of legal proceedings since approaching the High Court, I am officially a student again – from Today – at the very institution that denied me education 380 days ago.”
He added that the denial of education was never just a personal setback but a broader issue concerning the fundamental rights of students and campus democracy.
“Though this period has been a tough fight, taking away a significant amount of time from my education and daily life, I am glad that I could also be a small part of the resistance,” he added.
Expressing solidarity with student communities in institutions like AUD, Jamia Millia Islamia, and Jadavpur University, he described the legal battle as a "tough fight" but a meaningful part of a larger resistance.
A two-judge bench of the apex court, comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Manmohan, upheld the disciplinary action taken by TISS but directed that the suspension period be treated as already served.
The court observed that while the institute's action was legally valid and backed by documentary evidence, the interests of justice would be better served by permitting the scholar to continue his academic pursuits.
"Without examining the claims and counter-claims on merits, we feel that TISS having suspended the petitioner on 18th April, 2024 and lapsing of more than a year since then, interest of justice would be best served if the order of suspension is not continued further and he be permitted to pursue the PhD course in TISS. Ordered accordingly," the bench noted, reported Live Law.
Ramadas had been suspended on April 18, 2024, for a period of two years and was barred from entering any TISS campus. The suspension followed his participation in a protest on January 12, 2024, organized by the Progressive Students’ Forum (TISS-PSF) against the Modi government's National Education Policy (NEP). The event, named 'Parliament March', had called for rejecting the ruling BJP.
TISS also cited social media posts by Ramadas promoting the screening of Anand Patwardhan’s documentary Ram ke Naam as part of its justification for disciplinary action, based on a report submitted by its empowered committee.
Ramadas challenged the suspension in the Bombay High Court, arguing that it was rooted in caste-based discrimination and a violation of his right to freedom of expression. However, the high court dismissed his petition in March 2025, stating that the suspension was not the result of discrimination and was unrelated to the curbing of free speech.
According to Live Law, the high court had observed that the protest was politically motivated and that Ramadas had wrongly given the impression that the views expressed at the event represented those of the institute, thereby damaging TISS's reputation.
Following the high court's decision, Ramadas approached the Supreme Court.
On May 2, the top court ruled in his favour by reducing the duration of the suspension and permitting him to continue his PhD. The court maintained that while the disciplinary process had been legally sound, the larger cause of justice necessitated his reinstatement.
Ramadas, who first joined TISS in 2015 for a Master’s in Media and Cultural Studies, enrolled in the integrated M.Phil.-Ph.D. programme in Development Studies in 2018.
In 2023, he was awarded a National Fellowship for Scheduled Caste students by the Union Ministry of Social Justice based on his UGC-NET performance.
Reacting to the court’s verdict, Ramadas wrote in a Facebook post: “On the 366th day of legal proceedings since approaching the High Court, I am officially a student again – from Today – at the very institution that denied me education 380 days ago.”
He added that the denial of education was never just a personal setback but a broader issue concerning the fundamental rights of students and campus democracy.
“Though this period has been a tough fight, taking away a significant amount of time from my education and daily life, I am glad that I could also be a small part of the resistance,” he added.
Expressing solidarity with student communities in institutions like AUD, Jamia Millia Islamia, and Jadavpur University, he described the legal battle as a "tough fight" but a meaningful part of a larger resistance.
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