Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has come down heavily on the Maharashtra government and a Pune college for the arrest and rustication of a 19-year-old student over a social media post related to the India-Pakistan conflict. The court said the authorities had “turned the teenage girl into a criminal” instead of giving her a chance to reform.
A vacation bench of Justices Gauri Godse and Somasekhar Sundaresan was hearing the student’s plea challenging her rustication from Sinhgad Academy of Engineering, a private college affiliated with Savitribai Phule Pune University. “What is this? You are ruining the life of a student? What kind of conduct is this?” Justice Godse asked. “Somebody expresses something and you want to ruin her life? How can you rusticate? Did you call for an explanation?”
Arrested despite apology
The student, a second-year IT undergraduate, was arrested earlier this month after posting on social media about Operation Sindoor, India’s military response to the Pahalgam terror attack. She deleted the post within two hours after being trolled online and later issued an apology. Despite that, she was arrested and is now in judicial custody.
Additional government pleader PP Kakade, representing the state, argued that the post was “against national interest”. The bench, however, strongly disagreed, saying, “National interest won’t suffer because of a student’s online post. She has apologised and clarified her intention. What does the State want? It doesn’t want students to express their opinions?”
Court questions harsh action
The judges questioned the government’s harsh action. They said, “How can the State arrest a student like this? Such a radical reaction from the State will further radicalise the person.” They also instructed the student’s lawyer Farhana Shah to file a bail plea and said she must be allowed to appear for her remaining exams. When the government suggested she be escorted by police, the court responded sharply: “What is this, Mr Kakade? She is not a criminal. She cannot be asked to appear with police around her.”
The college, in its rustication order, cited “anti-national sentiments” and said she had brought disrepute to the institution—a charge the student called arbitrary and unlawful.
