Stating that in a country of “remarkable diversity, freedom of speech and expression doesn’t mean one can go on hurting others”, the Calcutta High Court on Tuesday rejected the interim bail application of 22-year-old social media influencer Sharmishta Panoli, arrested for hurting religious sentiments with her alleged communal posts.
The single bench of Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee also ordered Kolkata Police to produce the case diary as well as all the collected materials before the court on June 5, the next date of hearing.
The High Court directed that a May 15 complaint filed at Garden Reach police station by Wajahat Khan be treated as the principal case, and all other FIRs based on similar grounds be stayed.
“A group of people in our country got hurt, leading to three or four cases. A section of the country is aggrieved. We have freedom of speech and expression, but that doesn’t mean one can go on hurting others. This is a country of diversity, so one needs to be cautious before making such submissions,” Justice Chatterjee said during the hearing of Panoli’s plea.
Calling her arrest “illegal”, her counsel argued in court that “interim relief should be granted as Panoli and her family have cooperated with police, and she is unwell”.
“Whatever inquiry is required, the family and the girl are ready to cooperate. We don’t even know under which case the FIR in Kolkata was filed. After the post, members of that community threatened the petitioner with dire consequences and outraged her modesty. She filed two complaints with the Kolkata cyber cell, but no action has been taken,” the counsel said.
Meanwhile, the state government’s counsel submitted, “Notices were served to the girl, but there was no response, which led to the issuance of an arrest warrant.”
The High Court said, “We are a country of remarkable diversity, with people from different cultures. One must be cautious before making any comments. The State should be allowed to present its case. The Court is inclined to review the materials collected by the State so far. The jail authorities must ensure that basic amenities are provided to her.”
State government counsel Arko Kumar Nag told The Indian Express, “… The lower court had already refused bail. There was no (earlier) direction to produce the case diary… since this matter was served to us today, we’ll follow the court’s orders.”
Panoli was arrested from Gurgaon, Haryana, by the Kolkata Police on May 30. She was brought to Kolkata on transit remand and remanded to judicial custody till June 13.