The Bombay High Court on Monday criticised the Maharashtra government for the arrest and rustication of a 19-year-old engineering student over a social media post critical of "Operation Sindoor", ordering her immediate release.
The second-year student from Sinhgad Academy of Engineering in Pune, affiliated with Savitribai Phule Pune University, had challenged her suspension and arrest, calling the move "arbitrary and unlawful". She was lodged in Yerwada Central Prison after her arrest on 9 May.
During the hearing, Justice Gauri Godse questioned the state's approach. “What is this? You are ruining the life of a student? Somebody expresses something and you want to ruin their life? Did you even call for an explanation before rustication?” the judge remarked.
The student’s counsel, Farhana Shah, had sought an urgent hearing citing her ongoing semester examinations, arguing her liberty had been taken away without just cause.
The college's counsel claimed she could appear for her exams under police escort. Dismissing this, Justice Godse said, “She is not a criminal. What is the purpose of an educational institution — to reform or to create criminals?”
The court directed the government to allow her to sit the remaining three exams without police presence and said she should not be barred from academic activities.
“You may take some action, but you cannot stop her from taking exams,” the judge noted.
The matter may now be treated as a criminal plea or be refiled, the court said.
The controversy arose after the student allegedly reposted a social media comment on 7 May that criticised the Indian government in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack. She claimed to have deleted the post within two hours after facing a barrage of threatening and abusive messages online.
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