Op Sindoor Post Deletion, Being 'Bright Student' Not Grounds To Junk Case: Court

The Bombay High Court has verbally stated that a case against a 19-year-old student regarding her social media post opposing Operation Sindoor cannot be dismissed solely because she deleted the post and issued an apology.

According to the bench comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad, the fact that the accused is an "exceptional student" who has achieved excellent examination results does not justify dismissing the FIR filed against her.

The court was reviewing a petition from the Pune college student seeking to nullify the FIR registered against her in May for her social media commentary regarding Indo-Pakistan tensions during Operation Sindoor.

Following her arrest, she was subsequently released after obtaining bail from the High Court.

During Friday's proceedings, the student's legal representative informed the court that after securing bail, she had participated in her examinations and achieved impressive results.

The bench, however, emphasized that her academic excellence could not serve as sufficient grounds for dismissing the FIR.

The student's attorney argued that she harbored no malicious intent with her post, had promptly removed it, and had apologized for her actions.

The court remarked that the deletion of the post actually worsens and complicates the situation rather than mitigating it.

The bench scheduled further hearings after two weeks and instructed public prosecutor Mankhuwar Deshmukh to present the case documentation.

On May 7, the student had shared content on Instagram from an account named 'Reformistan', which criticized the Indian government for allegedly instigating conflict with Pakistan.

Within two hours, recognizing her error, she removed the post after receiving numerous threatening messages.

Operation Sindoor, initiated on May 7 as retaliation for the devastating April 22 Pahalgam attack, resulted in the destruction of terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The hostilities between India and Pakistan concluded on May 10.