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The Calcutta High Court, after hearing her plea seeking urgent relief, granted her interim bail. Read further on Dynamite News:
Calcutta High Court grants interim bail to Sharmishta (Source: Internet)
Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday granted interim bail to law student and social media influencer Sharmishta Panoli, who was arrested late last month by the Kolkata Police from Gurugram for allegedly posting a derogatory video hurting the religious sentiments of a community, court sources said.
The court, after hearing her plea seeking urgent relief, granted her interim bail.
Single bench judge of Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury granted Panoli the interim bail on a personal bond of Rs 10,000, court sources said.
As part of the bail conditions, Panoli must cooperate with the ongoing investigation and will also be allowed to travel abroad for academic purposes.
The judge also made comments about the procedure followed in her arrest. He stated that the arrest warrant had been issued “mechanically" and that the arrest order, issued by the Alipore court on May 22, at the request of the investigating officer, was not legally justified.
“The arrest warrant was issued mechanically. The arrest order issued by the Alipore court on 22 May 2025 at the behest of the investigating officer is not legally justified. The accused is a law student, and there is no need to keep her in custody for interrogation," Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury noted.
At an earlier hearing on June 3, the single bench judge, Justice Partha Sarathi Mukherjee, advised her that freedom of speech does not mean that she could hurt the religious feelings of others.
Panoli, a student of law, had allegedly posted adverse remarks against a community on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).
An FIR was registered against her on May 15 in the Garden Reach Police Station in Kolkata, and warrants were issued just two days later on May 17, 2025.
The Alipur court had sent her to 14 days in judicial custody.
Different people across the country are giving different opinions regarding the arrest of social media influencer Sharmistha Panauli. Some are standing against her while others are speaking in her favour. Kolkata Police arrested Sharmistha Panauli from Gurgaon and a case has been filed against her under four sections of BNS.
These include Section 196(1)(A) which involves promoting enmity between groups on the basis of religion. Section 299 which is imposed for acts done with the intention of hurting religious sentiments.
Section 352 which is for the possibility of breach of peace and intentionally insulting someone. While Section 353(1)(C) is for incitement against a particular class.
