Bombay HC sets aside rustication letter issued to Pune engineering student for social media post on Operation Sindoor

The institute rusticated the second-year IT student on May 9 after an FIR was registered against her at the Kondhwa police station in Pune. She was arrested the same day and sent to Yerawada Central Jail. The police said her Instagram post on May 7, in the wake of heightened India-Pakistan military tensions, “allegedly caused tension between two different religions and was likely to adversely affect public peace”. She was released on May 27 after the Bombay High Court granted her bail.

She approached the high court through advocate Farhana Shah and Amin Solkar with a civil writ petition seeking direction to quash the ‘arbitrary’ rustication letter and that she be reinstated and allowed to appear for the semester exams that were to begin on May 24. She also filed a criminal application challenging the FIR.

On Monday, a bench comprising Justices Makarand S Karnik and Nitin R Borkar sought to know from the college whether it would withdraw the rustication letter or the court would pass an order setting it aside.

After the college sought an order, the bench noted, “Admittedly,  the letter of rustication is issued in breach of natural justice. The petitioner was not heard before the letter was issued. In view of the matter, impugned letter is set aside with liberty to concerned authority (of college) to pass order after hearing the petitioner and complying with principles of natural justice. The civil writ petition is accordingly allowed.”

The court also noted that, as per the May 27 order, the petitioner had made a representation to the college, which was further forwarded to Pune University seeking relief to permit her to appear for the practical and theory exams she had missed during the time she was in custody.

The court stated that it had not made any observations on the merits of such a request, and it was open to the director, Board of Examination (BoE) of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), to take an appropriate decision on her representation in an expeditious manner.

The high court had earlier pulled up the state authorities and the college for “absolutely shocking” action against her, despite the petitioner having deleted the social media post within two hours and expressed remorse, tendering an apology.

“It appears that the police officers and college are bent upon ruining her life,” the high court had orally remarked. It had also permitted her to appear for the remaining exams from May 29 and had directed that she should not be called to appear at the police station regarding the probe during her exams.