The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Monday granted interim anticipatory bail to Madri Kakoti, an Assistant Professor at Lucknow University, who was booked on charges of sedition and promoting disharmony over a social media post related to the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Justice Rajeev Singh passed the order while hearing Kakoti’s plea for protection from arrest.

An FIR was lodged against her on April 28, following a complaint by Jatin Shukla, a student and member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). The FIR alleged that Kakoti’s posts on platform X (formerly Twitter) were provocative and undermined the sovereignty and integrity of India.

She was booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including those related to sedition and promoting enmity.

Appearing on her behalf, Advocate Syed Mohammad Haider Rizvi argued that the FIR was a reaction to her expression of opinion and that she had not intended to incite violence or unrest. The FIR also claimed that Kakoti had used terms like “saffron-terrorist” and that her post had been picked up and circulated by Pakistani media outlets.

The matter will be further considered after the interim bail period.