The Bombay High Court on Tuesday came down heavily on the Maharashtra government and a private engineering college in Pune for the arrest and rustication of a 19-year-old student who reshared a social media post critical of the Indian Army’s Operation Sindoor, as per a report by the New Indian Express.
The court, while hearing the bail plea of Khadija Sheikh, a second-year Information Technology student at Sinhgad Academy of Engineering, questioned the State’s decision to treat a young woman as a criminal instead of opting for a reformative approach.
"This is absolutely shocking. It appears like police officers are bent upon ruining her life. Equally the college," Justice Gauri Godse was quoted as saying during the proceedings.
The division bench, also comprising Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan, ordered Sheikh’s release from Pune’s Yerwada Central Prison on Tuesday itself to ensure she could sit for her upcoming semester exams.
Sheikh was arrested on May 9, just two days after she reposted Instagram stories critical of the government during the Indo-Pak hostilities under Operation Sindoor. According to the New Indian Express, she deleted the post within two hours, following threats and backlash online. She also issued an apology.
Despite this, Sheikh was booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023, including sections 152, 196, 197, 299, 352 and 353 and detained in Pune, as per a Live Law report. The court was informed that the Pune police, along with the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other intelligence units, had been involved in the investigation.
"The 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," the court said, sharply criticising the authorities’ disproportionate response.
“Such a radical reaction from the state will further radicalise the person,” the bench added, as quoted by the New Indian Express.
The judges also pulled up Sinhgad Academy for rusticating Sheikh without giving her a chance to explain. The college, in its rustication letter issued on May 9, the same day as her arrest, stated that Sheikh had shown “anti-national sentiments” and posed a “risk to the campus community and society.” The student was escorted out of the college amidst protests.
The court has reportedly suspended the rustication order, directed the college to issue her exam hall ticket immediately and even advised that she be given a separate classroom if needed for safety reasons. “We do not want any public assault etc,” Justice Godse said, as quoted by Live Law.
Sheikh’s lawyer, Farhana Shah, had initially approached the High Court against the rustication. During the hearing on Tuesday, a petition was also filed seeking quashing of the FIR and grant of bail. The student argued that the college’s decision was arbitrary and in violation of her fundamental rights. Her plea stressed that she had reposted the content without ill intent and had shown remorse.
When the government pleader contended that her social media activity was against the national interest, the court countered strongly: "How can the state arrest a student like this? Does the state want students to stop expressing their opinions?"
As per the New Indian Express report, the bench went on to criticise the broader institutional approach, saying that colleges should aim to guide and educate students rather than take punitive actions that could derail their futures. "Students need to follow some discipline? First inculcate some discipline in the institute then discipline students. Practice what you preach," the judges said.
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