Bombay HC quashes case against Pune engineering student over reposted post after Operation Sindoor

The Bombay High Court has quashed the criminal case against a 20-year-old engineering student from Pune. She had been arrested for sharing a controversial social media post when tensions between India and Pakistan were running high after Operation Sindoor.

In a judgment delivered on Tuesday, Justice Milind Jadhav said the student appeared to have reposted someone else's content just once. She removed the post on her own within two hours. She then apologised and expressed regret, and the court also took note that she had already spent time in custody.

The student studies at a private engineering college in Pune. She was arrested on May 9, 2025, over the post. The original post related to religious sentiments. The court noted that the subject is especially sensitive in a society where people of many faiths live.

The bench, however, drew a distinction between creating content oneself and sharing content someone else had posted earlier. The order says the controversial post was not written by the student.

The court accepted that the content could have raised concern about tensions between religious communities. But it said that a post being found upsetting or angering by some people is not enough to justify criminal proceedings.

According to Justice Jadhav, it was necessary to consider the student's age, the circumstances of the incident and her conduct after sharing the post. The court noted that she deleted the post voluntarily, without being asked by investigating officers, and apologised immediately.

The bench found no indication that the student had deliberately tried to promote enmity between religious groups. It also said the prosecution had not placed sufficient material on record to prove the charges against her.

Stressing that young people must be given a chance to learn from a single mistake, the court allowed the student's petition and quashed the criminal case.

The ruling underlines how important it is to examine the accused's background, intent and subsequent conduct when investigating criminal charges arising from social media activity, particularly when the controversial content was only shared and not created by the person concerned.