Sharmistha Panoli Gets Interim Bail in Operation Sindoor Video Case

shibnathkhan

Calcutta High Court has granted interim bail to 22-year-old social media influencer and law student Sharmistha Panoli, who was arrested over a controversial Instagram video linked to Operation Sindoor. The video allegedly hurt religious sentiments and triggered widespread outrage across social media platforms. Panoli, who apologized and deleted the video shortly after posting it, was arrested by Kolkata Police from Gurugram on May 30. The arrest led to a political controversy, with critics calling it a case of selective targeting. Her father claimed she was attending a pre-scheduled legal internship and was not absconding. Amid claims of procedural lapses, the court granted her interim bail upon a ₹10,000 bond, barring her from leaving the country. The case sparked debates over free speech, religious sensitivity, and digital accountability. The Calcutta HC also asked Kolkata Police to combine all FIRs and investigate them jointly. Meanwhile, Wajahat Khan Qadri—the complainant—is also facing FIRs for allegedly uploading inflammatory content. The case remains under judicial review, highlighting the complex intersection of law, social media, and communal harmony in India today. KEY WORDS:  Sharmistha Panoli Calcutta High Court bail Operation Sindoor video case Social media controversy Communal comments India Religious sentiments law India Kolkata Police arrest Law student arrested Instagram Freedom of speech India Hate speech arrest Wajahat Khan Qadri FIR FIR for Instagram post Indian influencer controversy Calcutta HC interim bail Viral video arrest Political reaction Operation Sindoor Digital speech regulation Controversial video India Instagram apology post Selective arrest debate  HASH TAGS:  #SharmisthaPanoli #OperationSindoor #CalcuttaHighCourt #FreedomOfSpeech #SocialMediaControversy #ReligiousSentiment #InfluencerArrest #IndiaNews #KolkataPolice #JudicialCustody #ViralVideoIndia #DigitalRightsIndia #BailGranted #CommunalHarmony #LegalControversy #DemocraticNewsTV #ShibnathKhan

Transcript

00:00this channel does not promote any violent harmful or illegal activities all content provided by

00:23this channel is meant for an educational purpose only welcome viewers viewers i'm shibnath and you're

00:31watching democratic news tv in tonight's top story we focus on the dramatic legal developments

00:38surrounding 22 year old social media influencer and law student shalmista panoli arrested for an

00:46allegedly communal video amid tensions over operation sindur her case has ignited a heated

00:52debate on freedom of speech hate speech political bias and police conduct stay tuned as we bring

01:00you a detailed breakdown of what really happened from arrest to interim bail sharmista panoli a 22

01:08year old law student and social media influencer with over 175 000 followers across instagram annex

01:16has been granted interim bail by the calcutta high court after being arrested for allegedly posting

01:22communal content on social media the arrest which followed a video she posted during operation

01:29sindur a counter-strike by india in response to the palgam terror attack has triggered a wave of legal

01:36political and public discourse on 14th may during the heightened cross-border tension following the

01:44palgam terror attack that claimed 26 lives shalmista panoli posted a video on instagram in response to a

01:51question from a pakistani follower in that video she reportedly criticized bollywood celebrities for

01:58their silence on operation sindur and made remarks that were perceived as derogatory towards islam and

02:05prophet muhammad the video went viral quickly prompting strong backlash from various quarters including

02:13political figures emeem national spokesperson varis pathan flagged the video and tagged the union home minister

02:21demanding action first was subsequently filed in kolkata's garden reach police station by complainant

02:28vajahat khan and within days panoli became the target of intense trolling threats and legal action

02:35on 15th may she deleted the video and issued a public apology on x stating i do herby tender my

02:44unconditional apology i never intentionally wanted to hurt anybody i will be cautious in my public post

02:53again please accept my apologies despite her apology the legal process had already been set in motion

03:03on 30th may kolkata police arrested sharmista from gurugram haryana where she was reportedly pursuing a

03:10pre-scheduled internship with a delhi-based legal firm her arrest was preceded by multiple attempts by

03:17police to serve her notice although her family claims that communication with police continued via

03:23whatsapp up to 26th may the police maintained that she was uncooperative necessitating the issuance of an

03:31arrest warrant her family countered that she was neither hiding nor absconding her father prithviraj panoli

03:48even provided visitor slips from kolkata police headquarters dated 15th may to prove that both

03:54he and shalmees tha had appeared at the station he also highlighted the irony of police conducting

04:01searches in noida saharanpur and gaziabad despite the family staying in one gurugram hotel throughout

04:09on third june justice partha sarti chatterji denied her interim bail he remarked we have freedom of speech

04:18but that doesn't mean we can hurt others in a diverse country like india caution must be exercised

04:26the court further highlighted the supreme court's stern stance on hate speech and incitement however

04:34a vacation bench led by justice raja basu chaudhary took a more balanced view on 5th june questioning the

04:40legitimacy of the arrest procedure and warrant noting that the arrest memo lacked clarity on grounds

04:48the court was critical of how the case was handled the judge said different judges sitting today but

04:56that does not make the situation different arrest memo and warrant lack clarity senior advocate dp singh

05:04representing panoli argued that the fir lacked grounds for a cognizable offense and the target audience of

05:11the controversial post was a pakistani user singh added she's a student of law she would have been a

05:20lawyer i don't know what will happen now after hearing both sides the court granted interim bail setting a

05:29bond of 10 000 rupees and bearing panoli from leaving the country without prior permission from the chief

05:35judicial magistrate the jail life i'm very happy so like what the piece of saying as any father or any

05:45family member you feel when your child is threatened the parents want the security honorable i could

05:51has asked the you know you have to provide that and we are very happy for that actually because the

05:56because the nature of the threats i mean it is it graphic you cannot explain the fear that you have

06:02when people are talking about sir seth and judah and it is mob lynching in online actually and which

06:10i think she is a very intelligent girl and she her her you know speciality was uh you know profanity

06:17i think she will learn she is very intelligent and she will move on yeah she is she is yeah she has already

06:24she has in fact some of the most of the videos what you know she herself had deleted i not asked her

06:28because she she is very uh free-minded and i think she has already learned and she will learn further

06:32panoli's arrest quickly turned into a political flashpoint in west bengal the bjp labeled the

06:39arrest as an example of selective enforcement suggesting that the kolkata police had acted with

06:46uncharacteristic hest they accused the trinamul congress-led state government of using legal machinery

06:53for political vendetta on the flip side civil society and minority rights groups defended the arrest

07:01asserting that freedom of expression must not cross into hate speech or religious insult

07:07interestingly in a dramatic twist kolkata police also filed an fir against vajahat khan kadri

07:15the very complainant whose report led to panoli's arrest kadri accused of spreading malicious and

07:22inflammatory content himself is now absconding according to police

07:28the calcutta high court has taken note of threats to panoli's safety and has instructed the kolkata

07:34police to ensure appropriate protection the influencer had earlier claimed to receive multiple death and

07:41rape threats after the video went viral leading her to deactivate regular phone lines multiple first filed

07:48against her across the country will now be clubbed into a single case in kolkata as per the high court's

07:55direction this case has reignited the debate on the boundaries of digital expression particularly in the

08:02context of national security and religious sentiments it also raises concerns about arrest protocols

08:10procedural clarity and the politicization of legal tools furthermore it sheds light on the increasing

08:18vulnerability of young digital creators especially students who may lack the maturity or legal awareness

08:25to navigate complex social political climates while panoli's video was undoubtedly provocative

08:32questions remain about whether the arrest was proportionate and procedurally sound

08:37that was our in-depth report on the interim bail granted to sharmista panoli a case that continues to

08:44divide public opinion and test the limits of our digital freedoms as the legal battle unfolds the nation

08:52watches closely where does one draw the line between expression and offense keep following democratic news tv

09:00for every update i'm sheeb not signing off for tonight stay informed stay critical jai hind

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