A Delhi court has permitted the Delhi Police to withdraw the 2019 sedition case against former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) Vice-President Shehla Rashid Shora over her tweets about the Indian Army, according to police sources.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Anuj Kumar Singh passed the order on February 27 following an application from the prosecution. The prosecution cited that Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena had withdrawn his sanction for Shora’s prosecution.
The LG’s decision, dated December 23, 2024, came after the recommendation of a screening committee, reported Hindustan Times, on Saturday, March 1.
Case details
The FIR was registered in 2019 at the special cell police station in New Delhi, based on a complaint by Alakh Alok Srivastava. Shora was booked under charges of sedition, promoting enmity between different groups based on religion, language, race, or place of birth, and inciting riots.
The charges carried a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Past tweets and allegations
Shora, a former JNUSU leader, allegedly tweeted on August 18, 2019, accusing the army of entering homes and torturing locals in Kashmir. The Indian Army rejected these claims as baseless, according to reports.
The Delhi police had initially sought prosecution sanction, which was supported by the Home Department of the Delhi government. However, the lieutenant governor later withdrew the approval, leading to the court allowing the case to be dropped.
