- By Shubham Bajpai
- Tue, 27 May 2025 07:35 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday lashed out at the Maharashtra government over the arrest of a 19-year-old student from Pune for her social media post on recent India and Pakistan hostilities and ordered her immediate release.
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 bench's stern reaction came over the fact that shw was arrested despite removing the post and apologising within a couple of hours.
The HC bench ordered the release of the student 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 court said that it is not a case where the girl has to remain in custody anymore, adding that the girl has to be released on Tuesday itself. "The applicant (girl) shall be released on bail by the Yerwada prison on Tuesday itself," the bench said.
The concerned prison officer is directed to ensure her release today evening 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 for the examination so that she could appear.
The HC said that the rustication order was issued in a hurry without allowing the student to give her explanation. The girl was arrested earlier this month for writing a critical post on the Indian government during the recent escalations between India and Pakistan amid Operation Sindoor.
The court granted bail to the girl and allowed her to appear for the ongoing examinations. However, the court also cautioned her to act 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 hardcore criminal?" the court remarked.
The bench observed that the girl's post can, at the most, be termed as an "act of indiscretion". "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.