Ex-student leader Shehla Rashid to face trial for tweets about army

Rashid was booked on lawyer Alakh Alok Srivastava’s complaint in September 2019 in Delhi over her tweets accusing the armed forces of ransacking houses and creating an environment of fear in Kashmir

Delhi lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena has granted sanction for former Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader Shehla Rashid’s prosecution for tweets about the army allegedly aimed at promoting enmity and acts prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony, officials aware of the matter said on Tuesday.

Shehla Rashid. (Hindustan Times)

Rashid was booked on lawyer Alakh Alok Srivastava’s complaint in September 2019 in Delhi over her tweets accusing the armed forces of ransacking houses and creating an environment of fear in Kashmir.

The army rejected the allegations and said such “unverified and fake news are spread by inimical elements and organizations to incite unsuspecting population.”

Officials said the Delhi government’s home department in its opinion on the matter said the nature of the case, the location to which the tweets refer, and false allegations against the army make it a serious issue.

“Not every tweet is to be proceeded with, under criminal law. But the tweet of the kind in this case needs to be processed against religious fault-lines have been created in J&K [Jammu & Kashmir] by the likes of Shehla Rashid,” the department said. “The case is made of for prosecution u/s 153A IPC [Indian Penal Code]. This relates to public order.”

Saxena granted the sanction under the Code of Criminal Procedure’s Section 196 that relates to offences against the state.

There was no immediate reaction from Rashid, who faces imprisonment for up to three years if convicted. The story will be updated when she reacts.