Sharmistha Panoli granted interim bail by Calcutta High Court
The
Calcutta High Court
on Thursday granted interim bail to influencer
Sharmistha Panoli
, arrested for allegedly posting video on social media with communal comments. The court had denied bail to the student on Tuesday.
Panoli, a 22-year-old Pune law student, was arrested in Gurugram by
Kolkata Police
on Friday night after a social media post allegedly containing derogatory remarks went viral.
The video, posted on Instagram, triggered widespread backlash for allegedly insulting a religious community and the Prophet Muhammad, despite Panoli issuing an unconditional apology and removing the content.
On Saturday, a Kolkata court sent Panoli to judicial custody till June 13.
On May 14, she posted a video in response to a Pakistani social media user who had questioned India's stance following the Pahalgam terror attack.
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In the clip, she sharply criticised Bollywood celebrities for remaining silent on Operation Sindoor—a major military response following the attack.
Panoli's video, initially intended as a political reaction, quickly spiralled into controversy. Several viewers, especially from Muslim communities in India and abroad, said she made offensive remarks about Islam and the Prophet Muhammad. The backlash was immediate and intense. Hashtags like #ArrestSharmistha began trending, and she reportedly received rape and death threats. Despite deleting the post and issuing an apology the following day, the situation had already escalated legally.
She posted on social media on 15 May, 'I do hereby tender my UNCONDITIONAL APOLOGY. Whatever was put are my personal feelings and I never intentionally wanted to hurt anybody. So anybody is hurt, I'm sorry… Henceforth, I will be cautious in my public posts.'
Multiple complaints were filed in Kolkata. Police say they attempted to serve legal notices to Panoli and her family, but she was allegedly untraceable. A senior police officer explained, 'The case pertains to an Instagram video by a woman named
Sharmistha
Panoli that hurt the religious sentiments of members of a particular community.'
With no response to the notices, a court in Kolkata issued an arrest warrant. Panoli was detained in Gurugram and brought to Kolkata on transit remand. Police also seized her phone and laptop for forensic analysis, looking for evidence of further offensive or manipulated content.
In response to criticism of the arrest, Kolkata Police stated, 'All legal procedures were duly adhered to. All attempts were made to serve notice, but she was found absconding on every occasion. Consequently, a warrant of arrest was issued by the competent court… We urge all concerned to refrain from spreading unverified or speculative content and to rely on authentic sources.'
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