Bombay High Court Raps Maharashtra For Teen's Arrest Over Op Sindoor Post

Pulling up the Maharashtra government for arresting a 19-year-old college student in Pune for a social media post on the India-Pakistan conflict, the Bombay High Court has said the State has turned the teenage girl "into a criminal" instead of giving her a chance to reform. The court also rapped the college for rusticating her, questioning how the institution can "ruin a student's life".

The vacation bench of Justice Gauri Godse and Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan was hearing the student's petition challenging her rustication from the college.

"What is this? You are ruining the life of a student? What kind of conduct is this? Somebody expresses something, You want to ruin the life of the student? How can you rusticate? Did you call for an explanation?" Justice Godse asked the counsel for the college administration and the state government.

Additional government pleader PP Kakade, appearing for the state government, responded that the social media post was "against national interest".

The court said national interest won't suffer because of a student's online post and pointed out that she had already apologised. "She has apologised and clarified her intention. What does the State want? It doesn't want students to express their opinions?"

"How can the State arrest a student like this? Such a radical reaction from the state will further radicalise the person," the bench said, according to a PTI report.

The 19-year-old was arrested earlier this month after she put up a social media post on Operation Sindoor, India's counterstrike to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack. She deleted the post two hours later after trolls targeted her. She is currently in judicial custody.

"The girl posted something, then realised her mistake and apologised. Instead of giving her a chance to reform, the state government arrested her and turned her into a criminal," the court said.

The bench asked the student's advocate, Farhana Shah, to file a bail petition. The court said she must be released so that she can take exams. "We understand you want to take some action, but you cannot refrain her from taking exams. Let her appear for the remaining three papers." When Mr Kakade said she can appear for the exam with police escort, the bench retorted, "What is this Mr Kakade? She isn't a criminal. She cannot be asked to appear with police around her."

The teenager is a second-year student of Information Technology at Sinhgad Academy of Engineering, a private institution affiliated with Savitribai Phule Pune University. In her petition, she had described the rustication as "arbitrary and unlawful".

The college had said in its rustication letter that she brought disrepute to the institution and that her "anti-national sentiments" posed a risk to the campus community.