Court Allows Delhi Police to Withdraw Sedition Case Against Shehla Rashid
NEW DELHI: In a significant legal development, the Patiala House court in Delhi has accepted an application from the Delhi Police to withdraw a sedition case against former JNU student leader Shehla Rashid Shora. The court’s order was issued by Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Anuj Kumar Singh on February 27, following a request from the prosecution which indicated that Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena had rescinded his sanction to prosecute Shora.
The controversy began with an FIR registered against Rashid under IPC Section 153A, based on a complaint lodged by advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava. Rashid faced allegations regarding her tweets from August 18, 2019, where she accused the Indian Army of entering homes at night, detaining young men, and creating a hostile environment in Kashmir. One of her tweets stated, “Armed Forces are entering houses at night, picking up boys, ransacking houses, deliberately spilling rations on the floor, mixing oil with rice, etc.”
In another controversial tweet, she remarked, “In Shopian, 04 men were called into the Army Camp and ‘interrogated’ (tortured). A mic was kept close to them so that the entire area could hear them scream and be terrorized. This created an environment of fear in the entire area.” These assertions were met with strong denial from the Army, which labeled the allegations as baseless.
Legal Implications and Public Reaction
The withdrawal of the case has stirred discussions about freedom of speech, especially in the context of sensitive issues like military actions in conflict zones. Critics argue that such cases can have a chilling effect on dissent, while supporters of the action emphasize the need for accountability in public discourse.
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