Kerala court grants bail to student activists in Sanskrit university protest

A court in Ernakulam granted bail to Student Federation of India (SFI) activists who were arrested following a protest at Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit in Kalady on August 13. The demonstration, organized by the student union, included staging a symbolic funeral procession of Vice-Chancellor Ciza Thomas.

The arrested activists had been booked in connection with the agitation, which saw student groups mobilize against the university administration. The bail order came after the court examined the circumstances surrounding the protest and the charges leveled against the students.

The symbolic funeral was employed as a form of political expression by the protesters to register their dissent against the Vice-Chancellor's tenure and administrative decisions at the Sanskrit varsity. The incident had drawn attention to ongoing tensions between student organizations and the university administration over governance and academic matters.

With the bail granted, the activists are expected to be released from custody. The case highlights the use of protest tactics by student unions in Kerala, where demonstrations and symbolic gestures have traditionally been employed to voice grievances against institutional leadership.