Bombay HC grants bail to student held for post on Indo-Pak conflict; raps government, orders her instant release

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to a 19-year-old student from Pune arrested for her social media post on Indo-Pakistan hostilities and ordered her immediate release while rebuking the Maharashtra government for its "radical" reaction to her post.

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A vacation Bench of Justices Gauri Godse and Somasekhar Sundaresan said it was "absolutely shocking" that the student has been treated like a "hardcore criminal" by the government.

The court ordered the student to be released on bail forthwith, noting that she should not have been arrested at all since she had deleted the post immediately, expressed remorse and apologised for the same.

"The applicant shall be released on bail by the Yerwada prison on Tuesday itself," the Bench said. The officer concerned of the prison is directed to ensure that she is released today evening itself so that she can appear for her college examination, the court said.

The court also suspended the rustication order passed by the girl's college and directed the institution to issue her a hall ticket so that she can appear for the examination.

The student was arrested earlier this month for her social media post criticising the Indian government during the Indo-Pakistan hostilities amid Operation Sindoor.

While 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 bail.

The court granted the girl bail and allowed her to appear for the ongoing examinations. It also cautioned the girl from acting responsibly and refrain from uploading such posts on social media.

The Bench said such a "radical" reaction from the state government was unwarranted and has turned a student into a criminal.

"This is an absolutely shocking case. Are the police bent upon ruining the girl's life? Is she a hard-core criminal?" the court remarked.

At the most, the girl's act of sharing such a post can be termed as an "act of indiscretion" by a young student, the Bench said.

"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," it added.

"Someone is expressing their opinion, and this is how you ruin her life? A student's life has been ruined," it said.

Additional government pleader P P Kakade said the girl's post was against the national interest. The court, however, said national interest would not suffer because of a post uploaded by a student who has realised her mistake and apologised.

"How 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 said.

The Bench also rapped the college for rusticating the girl, saying that an educational institution's approach should be to reform, not punish.

In her plea, the student stated that the college's 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 24. The petitioner claimed she had reposted the social media post without ill intent and immediately apologised.

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 institution's ethos. It further said the petitioner had anti-national sentiments and posed a risk to the campus community and society.

She is currently lodged in the Yerwada Prison in Pune in judicial custody, and a local court rejected her bail plea.