High Court Reprimands Maharashtra Government for Treating Student as 'Hardcore Criminal'

The Bombay High Court ordered the release on bail of a 19-year-old student from Pune for posting on social media on the India-Pakistan conflict. The court strongly criticized the Maharashtra government and said that the government's response to the student's post was 'extremely shocking' and 'hardcore'. The vacation bench of Justice Gauri Godse and Justice Somshekhar Sundaresan also said that it was 'absolutely shameful' that the government treated the student like a 'hardcore criminal'. The court directed the immediate release of the student so that she could appear in her college examinations.

The court ordered the immediate release of the student on bail and also clarified that she should not have been arrested. The student had immediately deleted her post, repented and apologized. The bench said that this is not a case in which the student should be kept in custody, and she should be released on Tuesday itself. The court, while reprimanding the state and its educational institutions, suspended the expulsion order issued by the Sinhagad Academy of Engineering and directed the college to provide the hall ticket to the student. The bench clarified that the student will be released on bail from Yerwada Jail on Tuesday.

The court has directed the jail authorities to release the student by this evening so that she can appear in her college examination. Along with this, the court suspended the expulsion order issued by the college and ordered the institute to issue a hall ticket so that she can appear in the examination. The vacation bench also said that the expulsion order was issued in a hurry without giving the student an opportunity to give her explanation.

The Supreme Court advised senior advocates, saying - give a chance to junior lawyers as well….

A Pune student was arrested earlier this month for sharing a post on social media on the hostility between India and Pakistan related to 'Operation Sindoor'. She is currently in judicial custody. The student has approached the High Court challenging the decision of expulsion by the college, while her lawyer Farhana Shah filed a petition on Tuesday seeking cancellation of the FIR and bail.

The court ordered the release of the girl on bail and also allowed her to appear in the examinations. Also, the court warned her to act responsibly and avoid uploading controversial posts on social media. The bench also said that the 'fanatic' response given by the state government is inappropriate, which has presented a student as a criminal.

The court termed the case as extremely shocking and raised the question whether the police is bent on ruining the life of that girl. The girl had approached the High Court challenging the decision of expulsion by her college. The bench said that the girl posted something, but later realized her mistake and apologized. Despite this, the state government arrested her and made her a criminal. The court raised serious questions on the conduct of the government and the college, saying that one's life cannot be ruined in this way for expressing one's opinion. Additional Public Prosecutor P P Kakde described the teenager's post as against national interest, but the court clarified that the post had not caused any harm to national interest.

The court raised the question as to how the state can arrest a student in this manner. Does the state want students to stop expressing their opinions? This type of harsh response can only radicalise the person further. The college's decision to expel the student was also criticised, saying that the aim of educational institutions should be to reform, not punish.

The court made it clear that the aim of educational institutions is not only to provide academic education, but also to aid in the reformation of students. The college should have given the student an opportunity to put forth her point of view. The court said that instead of reforming and explaining, she has been made a criminal, and raised the question as to whether they want the student to become a criminal. The court also noted that the girl is of such an age that it is natural for her to make mistakes. The case began when the girl shared a post on Instagram on May 7 from an account called 'Reformistan', criticising the Indian government's military conflict against Pakistan.

The student realised her mistake after facing criticism and threats due to her post, following which she deleted the post within two hours. She appealed to the High Court to cancel the expulsion and sought permission to appear in the semester examinations starting from May 24. The second-year student of Information Technology argued that the expulsion order issued by Sinhagad Academy of Engineering, a private unaided college affiliated to Savitribai Phule Pune University, was 'arbitrary and illegal'. The petitioner also said that she had immediately apologised on social media without any malice.