Sharmistha Panoli, a 22-year-old law student who was detained for allegedly posting a “offensive” video with “communal” remarks, was granted temporary release by the Calcutta High Court on Thursday.
Given the seriousness of the act, the petitioner’s age as a law student, and her attorney’s statement that she is willing to cooperate, Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury granted temporary bail on a security bond of Rs 10,000. Justice Chowdhury stated that the petitioner “shall not leave the country… if education requirements require that, it shall be moved before the Chief Judicial Magistrate” while directing police to give Panoli “appropriate protection.”
Stating that the arrest warrant for Panoli “appears to be issued in a mechanical manner”, the court said that in the case, “the primary challenge was that the complaint did not disclose a cognizable offence… nothing of the words spoken by the petitioner (Panoli) could be made out”. Justice Chowdhury also said during the hearing, “Is the video there in the case diary? Where is it in the complaint? So that means the police did not look into it. The magistrate’s order says that the report is awaited.”
During the hearing, the Advocate General submitted, “The petitioner was on the run. She was apprehended outside the state, taken on transit remand and brought to Kolkata, and bail was moved but not granted, and then she was sent to judicial custody. Once an FIR is registered, the accused is supposed to cooperate with the investigation and, if required, police can arrest. Police went to her residence to serve notice; she was not found. A warrant of arrest was issued by the court. On May 20, 12:50 am, she took a flight to Delhi. She was apprehended, the arrest was made… After the video got circulated, there were protests.”
Sharmistha Panoli’s counsel submitted, “I am a student in Pune. There was Operation Sindoor, a war of words (was) going on… The target was a Pakistani national who posted something. I deleted (the video) on the 8th. (I am) challenging the arrest and FIR as they don’t show a cognisable offence. Blasphemy is not the law of the land.”
The Justice observed, “The complaint says she is a law student, and the particular school she is studying in is also mentioned. I want to know, is she in politics? Is she famous that everyone knows everything about her? Then how come it is known that she is pursuing law and at which school?”
Sharmistha’s counsel argued, “On May 17, they were told the local police station would provide security. They found people in front of the house… they were so scared, so they booked tickets and left. They were not aware of what was to come, but they knew there was a threat to life. How did they obtain all the details? The video was deleted that day; it was circulated by others. They should have examined the videos. They are saying they had come on May 16, May 17, and May 18 — but her mother was there, CCTV footage is there, and guards are there.”
The Justice observed, upon hearing that Sharmistha had received threats, “What steps have been taken? If she can be apprehended, then they (those who threatened Sharmistha) should also be apprehended. One should be ashamed to see the photos outraging the modesty of the woman.”
Sharmistha Panoli’s father Prithviraj Panoli told, “As a parent I am very happy, we had full faith in the judiciary. She can now lead a normal life and not a jail life. We are trying to bring her out as soon as possible. As any parent, we would want security for our child. We cannot explain the fear we had due to the nature of threats. It was a very scary situation for us. She is a very intelligent girl and she will learn. I had not asked her, but she herself deleted the videos.”
This occurs two days after Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee’s single bench in the Calcutta High Court denied Panoli’s request for temporary bail and directed the police to provide the case diary. On May 30, Panoli was taken into custody by the Kolkata Police from Gurgaon, Haryana. She was placed in judicial prison until June 13 after being transported to Kolkata on transit remand.
