Calcutta high court grants interim bail to influencer Sharmistha Panoli

The Calcutta high court on Thursday granted interim bail to influencer Sharmistha Panoli, who was arrested for her alleged controversial social media comments, PTI reported.

The court has directed the social media influencer to furnish a bail bond of ₹10,000.

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, day after tomorrow. Heavens will not fall,” Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee had said.

The court had also directed the West Bengal government to produce the case diary on June 5.

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 now-deleted videos on her social media. After facing backlash, Panoli had deleted the post and also issued an apology.

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”.