'Police, College Ruining Her': HC Releases 19-Yr-Old Jailed Over Op Sindoor Post

A Muslim student in Pune was booked under sedition for Instagram 'repost' ending with 'Pakistan Zindabad'.

Pune Sinhagad Engineering College Muslim Girl Student Sedition Case Over Operation Sindoor

(Photo: The Quint)

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday, 27 May, ordered the immediate release of a 19-year-old engineering student who was jailed over a social media post that allegedly criticised "Operation Sindoor.”

The court also suspended the rustication order issued by her college, Sinhgad Academy of Engineering, and allowed her to appear for ongoing university exams, observing that the rustication letter was "hurriedly issued" without giving the student a chance to explain.

The second-year BTech (IT) student was arrested on 9 May for allegedly reposting an Instagram Story that criticised Operation Sindoor and ended with "Pakistan Zindabad." Though the post was online for only a couple of hours and was not authored by her, she was arrested under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Bharatiya Suraksha Sanhita (BSS), including sedition.

The arrest followed protests by several Hindutva outfits, including the Sakal Hindu Samaj, demanding action against her. Prior to her arrest, several right-wing social media handles had circulated links to her social media profiles along with her picture.

Three days after she was taken into custody, Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the National Investigating Agency (NIA) also joined the probe. The college simultaneously rusticated her, stating in a notice that she had "hurt sentiments" and shown "anti-national" behaviour.

'You Are Ruining The Life Of A Student'

The student was booked under Section 152(1)(b) BNS (acts likely to endanger the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India), Section 196 (promoting enmity between groups), Section 197 (prejudicial acts against national integration), Section 299 (public mischief), Section 352 (outraging religious feelings) and Section 353 BNS / Section 108 BSS.

A vacation bench of Justices Gauri V Godse and Somasekhar Sundaresan heard her writ petition challenging rustication and her bail plea. Justice Godse questioned the college's intent and the fairness of its actions,

"Has the college taken her explanation? If she is rusticated without a hearing, what kind of fairness is this?" the bench remarked, as quoted by LiveLaw.

The court noted that the college issued the rustication order within 24 hours, without issuing any show-cause notice, without conducting any hearing, and without examining whether the Instagram repost was malicious or careless. The judges observed that such hasty action violated principles of natural justice and ignored the student's remorse and subsequent deletion of the post.

The student was represented by advocate Farhana Shah, who told the court that the Instagram Story was not authored by Khadeejah, was deleted within two hours, and had no intent to hurt sentiments or threaten national integrity.

Shah added that her client had apologised in writing and had no prior criminal record. She argued that the police and the college had acted disproportionately and with a lack of procedural fairness.

When the college claimed it was acting in "national interest," Justice Sundaresan retorted, saying,

"She has already suffered the consequences. What more do you want? She has been rusticated, arrested, and jailed. She has deleted the post and apologised. If this is not reform, what is?"

Justice Sundaresan

"This kind of State action will only radicalise people. If you push them out of the system, you are the one breeding disaffection," LiveLaw quoted the bench saying, cautioning the college and prosecution against "criminalising young voices."

Suspension Of Rustication, Permission To Appear For Exams

The High Court found that the college's disciplinary process was flawed and hasty, observing in the written order that "the petitioner was not given an opportunity to be heard."

Further, the court noted,

"The student is in the second year of a four-year course. The consequence of such disciplinary action is extremely harsh and has long-term effects on her life and career."

Accordingly, the rustication order was suspended, and the college was directed to allow her to appear for all pending examinations. Since she had already missed two papers while in custody, the court noted that she could approach the University to seek permission to reappear for those.

The court directed that she be released by sunset on Monday evening to give her adequate time to prepare for exams due to resume on 29 May.

The bench added, "We direct the applicant to be released forthwith. The Additional Public Prosecutor shall communicate this order to the Jail Superintendent and Investigating Officer. A scanned copy of this order shall be treated as an authenticated copy."

The court also instructed that no police interrogation or summons be issued during her exams and directed the student not to leave Maharashtra without prior court permission, and further to cooperate with the police, if summoned.

Ordering her release from Yerawada Prison before sunset, the Bombay HC also took note of her ongoing Semester IV examinations.

The court directed that she not only be allowed to appear for the remaining exams, but that special arrangements be made for her to take the two exams she missed while in custody.

While the court did not halt the probe against her and advised her to be cautious about her social media posts, it overturned the college’s rustication order and directed the Pune Police to provide her with adequate security as she appears for exams, citing the “reactions against her on social media.”

When the college insisted on its authority to uphold discipline, Justice Godse said, "First, inculcate discipline in your own institution. Practice what you preach."

"You are an institution. You are supposed to protect her, not expose her," LiveLaw quoted Justice Sundaresan as saying.

(With inputs from Ali Shaikh and LiveLaw.)