The Bombay High Court on Tuesday quashed a FIR against a 20-year-old engineering student who was arrested in May last year for re-posting controversial posts on Operation Sindoor, India’s military action in response to the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack.
“The post is undoubtedly contentious, arousing passion and hatred. The court also observed that the post was deleted within two hours and that the student had apologised. The student argued that she re-posted a message on Instagram from a user, and claimed she faced public outrage and abuse both on and off campus due to the outrage.
A single-judge bench of Justice Milind Jadhav observed that she is “a young engineering student”, while allowing her plea. The court also said that the student’s role was limited to re-posting and noted that she has already suffered custody. However, the applicant’s (student) role is confined to re-posting the said post which was already available on the social media platform,” the court said, as per news agency PTI . The student, represented by advocate Farhana Shah, had challenged the college’s May 9, 2025 decision to rusticate her, calling it “arbitrary and unlawful”. Though she deleted the post and issued an apology, the college proceeded with her expulsion, alleging that her actions were “anti-national” and posed a threat to campus harmony, her petition alleged.
