The Calcutta High Court on Friday directed that no coercive steps be taken against actor-director Parambrata Chatterjee in connection with an FIR registered over alleged provocative social media posts related to the 2021 post-poll violence in West Bengal.
The interim protection was granted by the single-judge Bench of Justice Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee while hearing a petition filed by Chatterjee seeking quashing of the criminal proceedings and protection from arrest.
The FIR was registered at Gariahat Police Station on the basis of a complaint alleging that certain social media posts made by Chatterjee and actor Swastika Mukherjee had contributed to or instigated violence following the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections. The complaint invoked provisions of the Indian Penal Code relating to abetment and promotion of enmity between different groups, including Section 153A IPC, which is a non-bailable offence.
During the hearing, counsel appearing for Chatterjee argued that the FIR did not disclose any specific overt act, unlawful conduct or material showing involvement of the petitioner in any conspiracy or incitement to violence. It was further submitted that the FIR had been lodged nearly five years after the alleged social media post, rendering the prosecution legally unsustainable and an abuse of the criminal process.
The petitioner also contended that the allegations were based on a single social media post made in May 2021 and argued that the ingredients necessary to constitute offences under Sections 109 and 153A IPC were absent. Reliance was placed on judicial precedents relating to protection of free speech and the requirement of establishing intention to promote enmity or public disorder in offences involving online expression.
After hearing the submissions, the High Court observed that the petitioner had made out an arguable case requiring consideration on merits. The Court permitted the investigation to continue but directed that no coercive action be taken against Chatterjee for a period of four weeks or until further orders, whichever was earlier, subject to his cooperation with the investigating agency.
The Court further clarified that the interim protection would not prevent the investigating agency from completing the investigation or filing a final report in accordance with law.
The controversy arises from social media activity allegedly linked to the politically sensitive aftermath of the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, during which multiple incidents of post-poll violence had been reported across the State.
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