Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday strongly criticised acclaimed Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra for displaying a poster carrying an objectionable cartoon of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a protest rally in Kolkata earlier this year, while granting her interim protection from coercive police action till December 24.
Hearing the matter, a single-judge bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya described the poster as “distasteful” and said the actress’ conduct had “shaken the conscience”. The court observed that such offensive content should not be displayed publicly or circulated on social media, particularly by a public figure.
“Such a poster was very distasteful. Why should an established person in society hold and display such a distasteful poster that shakes the conscience? It reflects bad taste. Such offensive posts should not be made on Facebook or anywhere else. After all, she is an actress,” Justice Bhattacharyya remarked.
At the same time, the court directed police not to take coercive action, including arrest, against Mitra until December 24. Noting that 16 FIRs have been registered in connection with the incident, the bench ordered Anandapur Police Station to conduct a consolidated investigation after compiling all complaints filed against the actress.
The judge also directed the actress to cooperate with the police in the latter’s investigation in the matter. The single-judge bench, at the same time, directed the police to serve a notice 48 hours before the time of summons for interrogation in the matter.
The court also directed Mitra to cooperate fully with the investigation and instructed police to provide at least 48 hours’ notice before summoning her for questioning. It made clear that the interim protection could be withdrawn if she failed to cooperate with investigators.
The next hearing in the matter will be on December 14. The court directed the police to submit a progress report on the investigation on that day.
The controversy stems from a protest march organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in July against the alleged NEET-UG paper leak. During the rally, which witnessed clashes between protesters and police in parts of central Kolkata, Mitra was seen carrying a poster depicting an objectionable caricature of the Prime Minister.
Following the incident, BJP leader Keya Ghosh lodged a complaint at Anandapur Police Station. Similar complaints were subsequently filed at the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station and several district police stations across West Bengal, with the BJP demanding the actress’ immediate arrest.
(IANS)
