Sharmistha Panoli gets bail from Calcutta HC on three conditions. What are they?
The Calcutta high court on Thursday granted bail to social media influencer Sharmistha Panoli, who had been arrested due to her purportedly controversial remarks about Operation Sindoor.
A bench of Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury held that the complaint against her does not disclose any cognisable offence, according to PTI. The court, while granting bail to her, also imposed certain conditions.
Justice Chowdhury ordered that she be enlarged on bail bond and security of ₹10,000, and directed her to cooperate with the investigation into the case. The court also directed her not to leave the country without its permission.
'She has got bail on 3 conditions, that she will surrender her passport, she will join the investigation and sign a bail bond...whatever is happening right now in the country is wrong. You just arrest students...they speak what they see, their exposure is different...whatever she said, she said it based on the videos she saw," advocate DP Singh, lawyer of Sharmistha Panoli, told ANI.
Also Read | Instagram influencer Sharmishta Panoli's lawyer claims poor hygiene in Kolkata jail: 'She has kidney stones'
"These children don't know much...there is a fight between India and Pakistan, and they are just defending their country, so in such a situation...if they post a video like that of 5-10 seconds, is it even wrong? She is a victim of circumstances...a whole community has stood up against her...it is not like a riot took place because of what she said, so why is she being punished?' he added.
The 22-year-old was arrested by the Kolkata Police last week from Gurugram in Haryana. She is accused of hurting religious sentiments through her 'communal' comments in a video on her social media.
In the video, she had made remarks criticising Bollywood actors on Operation Sindoor. After facing backlash, Panoli deleted the post and issued an apology.
Also Read | 'Hate speech unacceptable': TMC leader Kunal Ghosh after Sharmistha Panoli denied interim bail
Her arrest led to a political row in West Bengal, with the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) describing Sharmishta Panoli's arrest as 'selective enforcement' and accusing the Kolkata Police of acting in 'uncharacteristic haste'.
Earlier this week, the court denied interim bail to Panoli, citing that freedom of speech does not mean one can hurt the sentiments of another person or community.
"Look, we have freedom of speech, but that doesn't mean you will go on to hurt others. Our country is diverse, with people from different castes, creeds, and religions. We must be cautious by saying this. So, the day after tomorrow. Heavens will not fall," Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee had said.
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