Teen Student Arrested For Social Media Post On Indo-Pak Conflict Challenges Rustication Order In HC
A Pune student, rusticated for a social media post criticizing India during Operation Sindoor, has petitioned the Bombay High Court.
A 19-year-old student from Pune, arrested for her social media post on Indo-Pak hostilities amid Operation Sindoor, has challenged her college's "arbitrary" decision to rusticate her in the Bombay High Court, terming it a gross violation of her fundamental rights.
The petitioner 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 second-year student of Information Technology contended that the rustication order passed by the Sinhgad Academy of Engineering - a private unaided college affiliated to the Savitribai Phule Pune University- was "arbitrary and unlawful".
The petition, filed through advocate Farhana Shah, stated that she was rusticated without issuing a show-cause notice or giving her an opportunity to defend herself.
"The action (of rustication), triggered solely by a social media post expressing personal opinions, was taken without affording the petitioner any opportunity of hearing and is hence in gross violation of the principles of natural justice and fundamental rights under Article 14, 19(1)(a) and 21," the petition said.
The petitioner claimed she had re-posted the social media post without any ill-intent and immediately apologised.
On May 7, the girl reposted a post on Instagram from an account called 'Reformistan', which criticised the Indian government for provoking a war against Pakistan. Within two hours, the girl realised her mistake and deleted the post after receiving a barrage of threats.
In its May 9 rustication letter, the college stated that since the girl had brought disrepute to the institution, it is justified to preserve the institution's ethos.
It further said that the petitioner had anti-national sentiments and hence posed a risk to the campus community and society.
The girl had to be escorted out of college due to protests against her. She was arrested the same day by the Kondhwa police after an FIR was lodged against her.
She was arrested on May 9. She is currently lodged in the Yerwada Prison in Pune in judicial custody.
The girl's bail plea was rejected by the local court on the grounds that she was a permanent resident of Jammu & Kashmir.
The petition is likely to be mentioned before a vacation bench of the high court this week for an urgent hearing.
(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)
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