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Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Pune student held for Operation Sindoor post and later granted bail appears for exam
A 19-year-old engineering student from the city, who was arrested earlier this month over a social media post about the government's 'Operation Sindoor', appeared for her semester exam on Thursday under security cover, her lawyer informed the Bombay High Court. Advocate Farhana Shah, representing the student, told a vacation bench of Justices Gauri Godse and Somasekhar Sundaresan that her client was released from Yerawada Central Jail on Tuesday night, in line with the court's directions. 'She received her admit card on Wednesday and was able to appear for the exam on Thursday,' Shah said. The court noted that no additional directions were needed and posted the matter before a regular bench on June 9. The High Court had earlier pulled up the Maharashtra government over the student's arrest, describing the police action as 'absolutely shocking' and an overreaction aimed at 'ruining her life.' The court also stayed the rustication order issued by Sinhgad Academy of Engineering, where she is a second-year student, allowing her to take her remaining exams. The student had already missed two written papers and two practicals while in custody. The bench noted that she can approach her college and Savitribai Phule Pune University to seek permission to reappear for those missed exam papers. On Thursday morning, she arrived at the exam centre with a family member. 'College authorities arranged a separate room for her, and she completed the exam by 12.30 pm,' her uncle said. Sinhgad Academy principal Kishor Patil confirmed that the student appeared for her paper in a different classroom. 'A dedicated supervisor has been appointed and two security guards—one male and one female—will remain with her on campus to ensure her safety,' he said. The student, originally from Jammu and Kashmir, had shared a post on May 7 from an Instagram account named 'Reformistan' that criticised the Union government's military action in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. She took down the post shortly afterwards and issued an apology, but a complaint was still filed against her at Kondhwa police station on May 9. She was arrested and sent to judicial custody before moving to the Bombay High Court to challenge both her rustication and the FIR. (With agency inputs)
NDTV
6 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Pune Student, Arrested Over Op Sindoor Post, Appears For Exam After Bail
Mumbai: The Pune teen student, arrested for her social media post criticizing the Indian government over Operation Sindoor and later released on bail, has appeared for her semester examination under requisite security, her lawyer told the Bombay High Court on Thursday. The high court had on Tuesday slammed the Maharashtra government for its "absolutely shocking" and "radical" reaction to the engineering student's post and for arresting her. The court ordered immediate release of the 19-year-old, originally from Jammu and Kashmir, from Pune's Yerwada Central Jail, noting the police were "bent upon ruining her life" and turning her into a "hardcore criminal". The court had also suspended the rustication order issued by the student's college Sinhgad Academy of Engineering, and permitted her to appear for ongoing second year semester examinations. Her advocate Farhana Shah informed a vacation bench of Justices Gauri Godse and Somasekhar Sundaresan that pursuant to the court order, the student was released from jail on Tuesday night. "The college issued her the admit card on Wednesday and she has appeared for the exam scheduled on Thursday," Shah said. The student had missed two papers and as many practical exams while she was in custody, she said. The court said the teenager can make necessary application to the college and the Savitribai Phule Pune University, to which the academy is affiliated, seeking special permission to reappear for the missed exams. "No further directions are required now. The matter shall be placed before the regular bench on June 9," the bench said. The college said as per HC's directives, special arrangements have been made for the student to appear for exams. "The girl will be giving her exams in a separate classroom. A separate supervisor will be assigned for her exams and two security guards, one male and one female, will accompany her on the campus for her safety," the college's principal, Kishor Patil, said. The high court, while granting bail to the student on Tuesday, had asked the college management to make special arrangements for her keeping in mind security concerns. The controversy began on May 7 when the student, pursuing a Bachelor of Engineering (Information Technology) degree, shared a post on Instagram from an account named 'Reformistan' that criticised the Indian government amid Operation Sindoor which targeted terror sites in PoK and Pakistan. However, realising her mistake, she deleted the post and also apologised for reposting it. Despite the teenager deleting the post swiftly, the Kondhwa police in Pune registered an FIR on May 9 and arrested her. She was later sent to judicial custody and lodged at Yerwada prison. The college also rusticated her immediately. Challenging her rustication and seeking quashing of the FIR, the student approached the Bombay High Court.
Hindustan Times
7 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Pune student held for Op Sindoor post, appears for exam under security, says HC
The Pune teen student, arrested for her social media post criticizing the Indian government over Operation Sindoor and later released on bail, has appeared for her semester examination under requisite security, her lawyer told the Bombay High Court on Thursday. The high court had on Tuesday slammed the Maharashtra government for its "absolutely shocking" and "radical" reaction to the engineering student's post and for arresting her. Also Read: Pro-Pak post: College makes special arrangements for student to appear for remaining papers after HC raps govt for arrest The court ordered immediate release of the 19-year-old, originally from Jammu and Kashmir, from Pune's Yerwada Central Jail, noting the police were "bent upon ruining her life" and turning her into a "hardcore criminal". The court had also suspended the rustication order issued by the student's college Sinhgad Academy of Engineering, and permitted her to appear for ongoing second year semester examinations. Also Read: Pune teen arrested for posting 'Pakistan Zindabad' on social media moves HC for bail Her advocate Farhana Shah informed a vacation bench of Justices Gauri Godse and Somasekhar Sundaresan that pursuant to the court order, the student was released from jail on Tuesday night. "The college issued her the admit card on Wednesday and she has appeared for the exam scheduled on Thursday," Shah said. The student had missed two papers and as many practical exams while she was in custody, she said. Also Read: HC raps college for rusticating student over post on 'Op Sindoor' The court said the teenager can make necessary application to the college and the Savitribai Phule Pune University, to which the academy is affiliated, seeking special permission to reappear for the missed exams. "No further directions are required now. The matter shall be placed before the regular bench on June 9," the bench said. The college said as per HC's directives, special arrangements have been made for the student to appear for exams. "The girl will be giving her exams in a separate classroom. A separate supervisor will be assigned for her exams and two security guards, one male and one female, will accompany her on the campus for her safety," the college's principal, Kishor Patil, said. The high court, while granting bail to the student on Tuesday, had asked the college management to make special arrangements for her keeping in mind security concerns. The controversy began on May 7 when the student, pursuing a Bachelor of Engineering (Information Technology) degree, shared a post on Instagram from an account named 'Reformistan' that criticised the Indian government amid Operation Sindoor which targeted terror sites in PoK and Pakistan. However, realising her mistake, she deleted the post and also apologised for reposting it. Despite the teenager deleting the post swiftly, the Kondhwa police in Pune registered an FIR on May 9 and arrested her. She was later sent to judicial custody and lodged at Yerwada prison. The college also rusticated her immediately. Challenging her rustication and seeking quashing of the FIR, the student approached the Bombay High Court.
The Hindu
28-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Student held for post on India-Pakistan conflict released from Pune jail
A 19-year-old Pune student, arrested for a social media post concerning Indo-Pak hostilities, has been released from jail after the Bombay High Court granted her bail while rebuking the Maharashtra government for "ruining her life" and turning her into a "hardcore criminal". The girl was released from the Yerwada Central Jail on Tuesday night following the HC's order, as per her lawyer. In a rebuke to both the State and her educational institution, the court in its order on Tuesday (May 27, 2025) also suspended the girl's rustication order issued by the Sinhgad Academy of Engineering. The student, originally from Jammu and Kashmir, moved to Pune in 2023 to pursue the Bachelor of Engineering (Information Technology) degree course from the Sinhgad Technical Education Society. On May 7, the girl shared a post on Instagram from an account called 'Reformistan', which criticised the Indian Government during the Indo-Pak hostilities amid Operation Sindoor. Within two hours, she realised her mistake and deleted the post after receiving a barrage of threats. The Kondhwa police in Pune registered a First Information Report (FIR) against her on May 9 and she was arrested. The girl was later sent to judicial custody and was lodged at the Yerwada prison. She then moved the HC through her lawyer Farhana Shah, challenging the rustication order and also sought quashing of the FIR and to be released on bail. On Tuesday, the HC came down heavily on the government for its "absolutely shocking" and "radical" response to the girl's social media post. The court ordered for the girl to be released forthwith so that she can appear for her ongoing semester exams. Pursuant to the court order, the girl was released from jail at around 9.30 pm on Tuesday, Shah said. The girl's family was present outside the jail at the time, the lawyer said. The court had also directed the educational institution to provide the girl a hall ticket so that she could appear for the exams. It said the college shall, if necessary, provide security and arrange a separate class for her to appear for the exams. The court also asked the police to ensure the girl is given adequate police protection when she goes to the college, considering the fear expressed by her. Shah said the girl would go to the college on Wednesday to take her hall ticket and finish other formalities so that she can appear for the remainder of her papers scheduled from Thursday (May 29 to June 3). Due to her arrest, the student missed two papers, the lawyer said. She had sought a direction from the HC to the college to permit her to take the two papers as a special case. The college said it cannot take the decision to do so as the examinations were conducted by a Pune-based university. The court then permitted the girl to file an application seeking such permission from the university. In its May 9 rustication letter, the college stated that since the girl had brought disrepute to the institution, it was justified to preserve the institution's ethos. It further said the petitioner had anti-national sentiments and posed a risk to the campus community and society. The HC, however, questioned the college for its "hurried" decision to rusticate the student, and said its approach should have been to reform the girl and not punish her. The court said her arrest should not have occurred, especially since she had promptly deleted the post, expressed remorse and apologised. Cautioning the student to act responsibly in the future and refrain from uploading such posts, the high court passed its sternest remarks for the state's handling of the situation.
Indian Express
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘Horrible 20-25 days': Kin relieved after student released from jail
The 19-year-old Pune student arrested earlier this month over a social media reshare on Operation Sindoor was released from Yerwada Jail around 9:30 pm on Tuesday, after the Bombay High Court granted her bail the same day. Coming down heavily on the police and the Sinhgad Academy of Engineering for rusticating her, the court said that instead of reformation, the authorities seemed 'bent on ruining her life'. The student sought that the Bombay High Court quash her college rustication and she be allowed to appear for the semester exams that began May 24. In its order, the court accepted these demands and also allowed her to approach the Savitribai Phule Pune University, under which the Sinhgad Academy operates, to appear for the papers she missed while she was lodged in jail. The student's uncle, while waiting outside the jail for her to be released, told The Indian Express, 'We trust the Indian Constitution, that's it. Based on that we have fought this fight and got her released. Choti si galti ka rai ka pahad bana diya (they have made a big deal out of a small mistake). Our kid is back at our house, we are happy about that.' He added, 'Who will fight with these people? For no reason 20-25 days of ours have been horrible. It is an invisible force, one can only fight against a visible force. We are not politicians. We earn to eat and live our lives. We are an educated family and we have nothing to do with all this. It is a small mistake, a small thing that she didn't see before reposting. People took screenshots of that and made it a big thing.' Another relative said, 'We have been waiting here since 5:30 pm. Earlier we were told that they would not release her till 7 in the morning as they do not release inmates after sundown.' Farhana Shah, representing the student in the Bombay High Court, submitted that she had not written the post herself but only shared a post. She deleted the post in two hours and also apologized for it, the counsel submitted. The court accepted this in its order and said, 'There is no dispute that immediately within two hours, the petitioner deleted the post and she publicly expressed remorse and tendered an apology.' The bench of Justices Gauri Godse and Somasekhar Sundaresan rapped the authorities during the court hearing and said, 'She accepted she made a mistake and removed it. You need to reform her. You need to help her, or you want to convert her into a criminal?' Her lawyer in Pune H D Sayyed told The Indian Express, 'It is a landmark judgement. After the release their investigation will go on, but we will discuss and our client can decide to apply for quashing the case in the Bombay High court.' Multiple calls to Principal of Sinhgad Academy of Engineering Kishore Patil went unanswered. Soham is a Correspondent with the Indian Express in Pune. A journalism graduate, he was a fact-checker before joining the Express. Soham currently covers education and is also interested in civic issues, health, human rights, and politics. ... Read More
