Calcutta High Court Grants Bail to Influencer Sharmistha Panoli imposing three bail conditions: Question on freedom of speech and expression?

The Calcutta High Court on Thursday granted bail to social media influencer Sharmistha Panoli. A 22 year old law student who got arrested for allegedly posting a video that contained derogatory remarks that hurt the religious sentiments.. A bench comprising of Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury were of the view that the complaint against her does not disclose any cognisable offence.

The 22-year-old law student was arrested on the night of May 30 and is now in judicial custody in Kolkata.

Justice Raja Basu Chowdhury noted that the complaint did not disclose any cognizable offense.

Bail Conditions for Sharmistha Panoli:

Court imposed three conditions; emphasizing the boundaries of free speech.

• 1. Furnish a bail bond of ₹10,000.
  2. Surrender her passport and not leave the country without court’s permission.
  3. Cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

Sharmishtha’s lawyer Mr DP Singh condemned the present state of affairs stating that students can’t be arrested just like that. They speak what they see, their exposure is different…whatever she said, she said it based on the videos she saw.

“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.

Panoli’s lawyer highlighted concerns about her health and the conditions of her custody.

What caused the arrest of Sharmistha Panoli?

Sharmishtha was arrested by the Kolkata Police last week from Gurugram in Haryana. She has been accused of hurting the religious sentiments through her ‘communal comments’ over a viral video which she posted on her social media. So these comments were against Muslim community on social media and she got booked for posting hurtful comments against them. (Shamishta Panoli @Sharmishta Panoli Raj v. State of West Bengal & Ors).

She can be heard criticising Bollywood actors on Operation Sindoor. While she has deleted the post and also put forth an apology. She was widely criticised with TMC Leader stating that “Hate speech is unacceptable.”

Her arrest was followed by a political row in West Bengal. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the opposition described the arrest of Sharmishta Panoli as “selective enforcement” and they also accused the Kolkata police of accusing the Kolkata Police of acting in “uncharacteristic haste”.

What are the limits of Freedom of Speech?

This case certainly puts forth the question as to what actually are the limits of freedom of speech that has been put forth as a right for all the citizens put there as per Article 19 of Inidan constitution. What is its limit and to what extent can it be enforced? This also raises an important question as to whether its application is selective in nature and approach and when can it be put under the purview of misuse. When should it become actionable and used as a weapon to shun the voices. Also, to what extent should a person be careful in putting forth their voice and what are the limitations.

Earlier this week, Panoli was denied interim bail citing that hurting the sentiments of another person or community does not fall under the purview of freedom of speech.

“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.