Calcutta HC denies bail to Sharmishta Panoli over remarks on Prophet Muhammad

Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday, June 3, directed the West Bengal government to produce the case diary in connection with the arrest of law student Sharmistha Panoli on June 5, when her interim bail prayer will be heard again.

Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee, who presided over the matter, while denying ad-interim bail, said, “Look, we have freedom of speech, but that doesn’t mean you will go on to hurt others,” reported Live Law.

The court also said that the state will ensure that no further cases will be registered on the alleged action of Panoli. The court directed the state to produce the case diary on the next date of hearing on June 5.

Justice Mukherjee observed that one must be careful in making comments in public in a diverse country like India.

Petitioner Panoli’s lawyer claimed that no offence is made out in the complaint filed against her for allegedly making some remarks on social media during the Operation Sindoor against Pakistan.

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He claimed that there was a war of words on social media between users across India and Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, which was undertaken by India in response to the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed the lives of 26 men, most of whom were tourists.

It was stated that the complaint before the Garden Reach police station in Kolkata claimed that Panoli’s comments on social media hurt the religious sentiments of the Muslim community and caused disharmony among people.

Panoli prays for quashing of FIR

He prayed for the quashing of the FIR against Panoli and sought the grant of bail to her, claiming that no notice was served to her for appearing before the police for investigation into the complaint.

Panoli’s lawyer, stating that the complaint does not specify what had been said in her social media comments, claimed that it does not disclose any cognisable offence.

He stated that the complaint was filed on May 15, and two days later, a warrant of arrest was obtained by the police.

He submitted before the court that Panoli’s family had also complained to the police that she was under threat and that the alleged offensive post had been taken off from the social media on May 8 after having been posted on May 7 night.

The law student was arrested by the Kolkata police from Gurugram and was remanded to judicial custody by a Kolkata court till June 13.

It was claimed by her lawyer that at least four FIRs were filed in different police stations in the state.

Appearing for the state, senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee submitted that the complaint contains a cognisable offence and that the alleged post contained an offensive video apart from text.

He stated that Panoli’s bail petition was rejected by the magistrate of the lower court and was remanded to judicial custody.

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