Daijiworld Media Network – Mumbai

Mumbai, Sep 21: The Bombay High Court on Saturday observed that the case against a 19-year-old Pune student for her social media post on Operation Sindoor cannot be quashed solely on the grounds that she deleted the post and apologised.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad noted that the fact the accused is a “bright student” who secured good marks in her exams does not justify quashing the FIR.

The student had filed the petition seeking relief after an FIR was lodged in May for her Instagram repost from an account called ‘Reformistan’, which criticised the Indian government over hostilities with Pakistan. She was arrested but later granted bail by the High Court.

Her lawyer submitted that the post was shared without ill intent and deleted promptly after receiving threats. However, the court remarked that deletion of the post could, in fact, aggravate the case.

The matter has been posted for further hearing in two weeks, with public prosecutor Mankhuwar Deshmukh directed to submit the case diary.

Operation Sindoor, carried out from May 7 to May 10, targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in response to the April 22 Pahalgam attack.