The Bombay High Court has refused to quash an FIR filed against a Pune woman, Farah Deeba, who reacted with a laughing emoji in a housing society WhatsApp group where members were praising the Indian Army’s ‘Operation Sindoor’.
A Division Bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Rajesh Patil observed that Deeba’s social media actions, including allegedly offensive posts about the Prime Minister and the Indian National Flag, prima facie attracted penal provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS).
“The acts of the Petitioner, initially reacting with a laughing emoji… and thereafter uploading a video wherein the Prime Minister of India has been shown sitting on a rocket and the National Flag shown burning, attract the provisions of Sections 152, 196, 197, 352 and 353 of BNS,” the Court noted in its order.
The incident arose from a WhatsApp group named ‘Sath Sath Margosa Ladies’, consisting of around 380 women residents of Margosa Heights in Pune. On May 7, after members applauded the Army’s cross-border strike, Deeba allegedly responded with a laughing emoji.
She later reportedly posted a Facebook video on her WhatsApp status showing the Prime Minister seated on a rocket and the national flag burning, and allegedly referred to India as "Makkar". She also mentioned that her ancestry was Pakistani on both maternal and paternal sides.
The content triggered protests by society residents, who demanded police action. An FIR was subsequently registered at Kalepadal Police Station in Pune.
Deeba challenged the FIR, arguing that she was not in a stable mental condition at the time of the posts. Her lawyer submitted that she had already apologised and deleted the posts, and had suffered professionally—having been terminated from her teaching job.
The Court, however, rejected these submissions.
“She could have probably avoided reacting with a laughing emoji, when others were celebrating the successful mission of the Indian Army,” the Bench observed.
The judges emphasised that as an educated person and a teacher by profession, Deeba should have been aware of the consequences of her online behaviour.
“In such a situation, she subsequently adopting a defence that she has now realised those messages were controversial and posted them due to her deranged mental condition will not be helpful to her,” the Court said.
The Court echoed recent concerns expressed by the Allahabad High Court in a similar case, warning against the misuse of social media platforms under the guise of free speech.
“It has become a fashion among certain groups of people to misuse social media in the garb of ‘Freedom of Speech and Expression’… Such actions show disrespect not only against the Prime Minister but also against the Indian Military and its officers,” the Bench said.
The Court concluded that there was enough material to investigate and that interference at this pre-chargesheet stage was unwarranted.
For the Petitioner: Advocate Harshad Sathe, instructed by Advocate Saurabh Bhutala
For the State: Additional Public Prosecutor MM Deshmukh
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