New Delhi [India], March 1 : The Patiala House Court has allowed an application moved by Delhi Police seeking direction to withdraw a 2019 sedition case against former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) leader Shehla Rashid Shora concerning her tweets about the Indian Army.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Anuj Kumar Singh allowed the application on February 27. The application stated that Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena, who had previously granted sanction to prosecute Rashid, has now withdrawn the sanction. A senior official also confirmed the development in the matter.
The Special Cell of Delhi has recently moved the court and filed an application under section 321 CrPC, stating that "The case was examined by the Screening Committee, which recommended for withdrawal from prosecution of the said case. The same was placed before the Government of NCT of Delhi for consideration.
"Hon'ble Lt Governor. Delhi has approved the recommendation of the Screening Committee for withdrawal from prosecution under section 196 of CrPC. It is, therefore, requested to take appropriate action in the matter, under intimation to this Government," Delhi Police said in the application.
Shehla Rashid was booked by Delhi Police in 2019 under the sedition law for her tweets in which she had claimed that the armed forces were "entering houses" in Jammu and Kashmir and "picking up boys".
The case was filed on the complaint of a Supreme Court lawyer, Alakh Alok Srivastava. In the complaint, it was mentioned that Rashid, in her series of tweets, mentioned alleged human rights violations by the Indian Army. However, the Army has officially denied the allegations levelled by Rashid and called them baseless and unverified.