Kolkata: A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court on Wednesday granted interim stay on the FIR registered against actress-turned politician and former Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member, Mimi Chakraborty, based on a complaint filed against her by event organiser Tanay Shastri, who also filed a Rs 20 lakh defamation suit against her.
Shastri, who was arrested earlier this year during the previous Trinamool Congress-led West Bengal government on the basis of a harassment complaint filed against him by Chakraborty and was also subjected to 14 days of judicial custody, was released on bail.
Thereafter, he filed the Rs 20 lakh defamation suit against Chakraborty accusing her of getting him jailed by making false accusations.
Later, as Chakraborty refrained from appearing before the court in the matter after repeated summons in the case, Shastri’s counsel, Tarunjyoti Tiwary, who is currently a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator, approached the Calcutta High Court with the plea for framing charges against Chakraborty.
Thereafter, the actress-turned-politician approached the Calcutta High Court seeking protection from coercive police action in the case.
The matter came up for hearing at Calcutta High Court’s single-judge bench of Justice Kaushik Chanda on Wednesday afternoon and after a detailed hearing in the matter, the single-judge bench granted an interim stay on the FIR in the matter.
In January this year, Chakraborty had travelled to perform at an event organised by Shastri in Bongaon in the North 24 Parganas district, where she was the final performer of the night.
Chakraborty alleged that Shastri removed her from the stage midway through the performance, as it was midnight and he did not have permission for the event to continue beyond that time. She subsequently filed a police complaint accusing him of harassment.
Shastri filed a counter-complaint, claiming that Chakraborty did not arrive for the performance at the specified time and that he had requested her to leave the stage, denying any harassment.
The police later visited Shastri’s residence to investigate the matter, during which he allegedly obstructed the officers.
Shastri and his two aides were arrested on charges of harassment and obstruction of police duty, with a case registered under a non-bailable section.
After spending more than a week in judicial custody, he was granted bail on February 11.
Thereafter, he filed the defamation suit against Chakraborty, the former Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member from Jadavpur constituency in South 24 Parganas district from 2019 to 2024.
Mimi Chakraborty voluntarily did not contest as Trinamool Congress candidate in 2024 Lok Sabha polls reportedly to concentrate on her acting career.
(IANS)
