Court Relief For Student Who Raised Slogans Against BJP On Flight In 2018

The Madurai bench of Madras High Court quashed the FIR registered against Lois Sophia, who was arrested for raising slogans against BJP in 2018 on board a flight on which then State BJP president Tamilisai Soundarajan had also travelled.

Judge Dhanapal while quashing the proceedings against Ms Sophia, said that the incident was not a crime and the matter was trivial.

The court quashed the case pending before Thoothukudi Judicial Magistrate III.

Quashing the proceedings against her, the court observed that procedure under Section 155 of the CrPC (Information as to non-cognisable cases and investigation of such cases) was not followed and the police had inserted Section 505 (1)(B) of the IPC in the FIR.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Ms Sophia in 2019 seeking to quash the case against her.

In September 2018, Ms Sophia, a Research student was arrested for chanting "fascist BJP government down" on a plane in the presence of former Tamil Nadu BJP president Tamilisai Soundararajan.

Thoothukudi police arrested Ms Sophia for raising anti-BJP slogans on the plane. She was later arrested on a complaint lodged by Tamilisai.

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