A city court has allowed Delhi Police to withdraw a 2019 case of sedition against former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) vice president Shehla Rashid Shora for her tweets on the Army.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Anuj Kumar Singh passed the order on February 27 on an application moved by the prosecution, which claimed that Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has withdrawn his sanctions to prosecute Shora.
The Delhi Police had registered a sedition case against Rashid in September 2019 based on a complaint by Supreme Court lawyer Alakh Alok Srivastava. The case was lodged under charges of "promoting enmity between different groups" and "acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony. The case was filed under offences including sedition, promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, language, race, place of birth etc., and inciting riots. The charges carried a maximum punishment of life imprisonment
According to the application, the LG order came on the recommendation of a Screening Committee."Lt Governor, Delhi has approved the recommendation of the Screening Committee...' the application said.
The LG granted the approval on December 23, 2024.The FIR against Shora was registered in 2019 at the Special Cell police station in New Delhi, on the basis of a complaint by a person named Alakh Alok Srivastava.
Shora, a former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) leader, was accused of promoting enmity between different groups and indulging in acts prejudicial to harmony through her tweets, they said.
The proposal for the prosecution sanction was moved by the Delhi Police and supported by Home Department of the Delhi government, the L-G office said. Shora's tweets dated August 18, 2019 allegedly accused the Army of entering houses and "torturing" locals in Kashmir. The allegations were rejected by the Army as baseless.
The tweets dated August 18, 2019 had allegedly accused the Army of entering houses and "torturing" locals in Kashmir.
The allegations were rejected by the Army as baseless.
Last year, Rashid who was once vocal critic of the Modi government's decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir's autonomous status, praised the Modi-led government for its efforts in improving the human rights situation
She also praised the film Article 370 and said that the film tells the inside story of the bloodless removal of Article 370 without creating disharmony.