Student held over Indo-Pak post gets bail; Bombay HC criticises Maharashtra govt

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to a 19yearold Pune student arrested for a social media post concerning IndoPak hostilities sharply criticising the Maharashtra government for its absolutely shocking and radical response to her actions The court ordered her immediate release allowing her to appear for her ongoing college examinationsA vacation bench of Justices Gauri Godse and Somasekhar Sundaresan stated it was absolutely shocking that the student had been treated like a hardcore criminal and questioned whether the police were bent upon ruining the girls life The court emphasized that her arrest should not have occurred especially since she had promptly deleted the post expressed remorse and apologisedThis is not a case where the girl has to remain in custody anymore the bench said directing her release from Yerawada Central Jail on Tuesday itself to enable her to appear for her college exams In a rebuke to both the state and her educational institution the court also suspended the rustication order issued by the Sinhgad Academy of Engineering and instructed the college to provide her with a hall ticket Cautioning the student to act responsibly in the future and refrain from uploading such posts the court passed its sternest remarks for the states handling of the situationSuch a radical reaction from the state government was unwarranted and has turned a student into a criminal the bench observedThe rustication order was issued hurriedly without giving the student an opportunity to give her explanation it saidThe student was arrested earlier this month for her social media post criticising the Indian government during the IndoPak hostilities amid Operation SindoorShe is presently in judicial custodyWhile the girl had initially moved the HC challenging the decision taken by her college rusticating her her lawyer Farhana Shah on Tuesday also filed a petition seeking quashing of the FIR and release on bailThis is an absolutely shocking case Are the police bent upon ruining the girls life Is she a hardcore criminal the court remarkedAt the most the girls act of sharing such a post can be termed as an act of indiscretion by a young student the bench saidThe girl has posted something and then realised her mistake and apologised Instead of giving her a chance to reform the state government has arrested her and turned her into a criminal it addedThe court questioned the conduct of the government and the collegeSomeone is expressing their opinion and this is how you ruin their life A students life has been ruined it saidAdditional government pleader P P Kakade said the girls post was against the national interestThe court however said national interest would not suffer because of a post uploaded by a student who has realised her mistake and apologisedHow can the state arrest a student like this Does the state want students to stop expressing their opinions Such a radical reaction from the state will further radicalise the person the court saidThe bench also rapped the college for rusticating the girl saying that an educational institutions approach should be to reform not punishThe job of an educational institution is to not just impart academic education but also to help students reform the court said adding that the college ought to have given the girl an opportunity to explainInstead of reforming her and making her understand you have turned her into a criminal You want the student to turn into a criminal the court askedIt said the girl is at an age where mistakes are bound to happen and she had suffered enough The teen in her plea stated that the colleges decision was arbitrary and a gross violation of her fundamental rights She requested the high court to quash the rustication order her reinstatement and allow her to appear for the semester exams scheduled to begin on May 24The secondyear student of Information Technology contended that the rustication order passed by the Sinhgad Academy of Engineering a private unaided college affiliated with the Savitribai Phule Pune University was arbitrary and unlawful The petitioner claimed she had reposted the social media post without ill intent and immediately apologised On May 7 the girl reposted a post on Instagram from an account called Reformistan which criticised the Indian government for provoking a war against PakistanWithin two hours she realised her mistake and deleted the post after receiving a barrage of threats In its May 9 rustication letter the college stated that since the girl had brought disrepute to the institution it was justified to preserve the institutions ethos It further said the petitioner had antinational sentiments and posed a risk to the campus community and society The girl had to be escorted out of college due to protests against her and she was arrested the same day by the Kondhwa police after an FIR was registered against her She is currently lodged in the Yerwada Prison in Pune after a local court rejected her 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