The Bombay High Court on Tuesday dismissed an FIR against a Pune engineering student for reposting a contentious social media post relating to Operation Sindoor, observing that a youthful error of judgment cannot automatically be equated with a deliberate criminal act. The court also said that a publication being perceived as offensive cannot, by itself, constitute sufficient grounds for criminal prosecution.
Justice Milind N Jadhav allowed a plea filed by Khadeejah Shahabuddin Shaikh, observing that the prosecution had failed to establish sufficient material demonstrating the criminal intention required for the offences.
“The distinction between content which may be objectionable and conduct which constitutes a criminal offence therefore cannot be overlooked,” the court observed.
Advocate Farhana Shah, appearing for Shaikh, argued that her client was not the original author of the post and had merely reposted content already available on social media. She submitted that Shaikh voluntarily deleted the post within two hours on May 7, 2025, and publicly expressed remorse and tendered an apology.
Despite this, an FIR was registered against Shaikh on May 9, 2025, and she was arrested the same day.
Shah further argued that there was no material establishing the requisite criminal intention or knowledge and that no actual communal disturbance could be attributed to the post. She also highlighted that Shaikh was a young engineering student with no criminal antecedents, contending that continuing the prosecution would adversely affect her career and prospects.
The State opposed the plea, arguing that reposting objectionable content could also attract criminal liability. It further submitted that deleting the post and tendering an apology did not automatically extinguish such liability.
The court noted that no consequential unlawful incident had been brought to its notice. It also emphasised that criminal proceedings should serve a reformative rather than punitive purpose, particularly in the case of young students.
The court subsequently quashed the FIR registered at Kondhwa police station.
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