India, July 30 -- The Bombay high court on Tuesday refused to quash the first information report (FIR) registered against 46-year-old Farah Deeba, a Pune-based former teacher, for allegedly ridiculing India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the WhatsApp group of her housing society following Operation Sindoor.

Deeba's reference to India as "makkar" (deceitful) and her connection with Pakistan through her parents' families who resided there revealed the mens rea (guilty mind) behind her alleged crime, the division bench of justices AS Gadkari and Rajesh Patil said while dismissing her petition.

Deeba, a resident of Margosa Heights housing society in Pune's Mohammadwadi neighbourhood, worked as a school teacher. After the Indian armed f...