Calcutta HC grants interim bail to influencer Sharmishta Panoli in Operation Sindoor post case

As part of the bail conditions, she has been prohibited from leaving the country without prior permission from the Chief Judicial Magistrate.

She has also been instructed to deposit a sum of Rs 10,000.

The High Court has directed the Kolkata Police to act on a petition filed by Panoli regarding threats to her safety, which she had raised before her arrest.

Panoli, a fourth-year law student from Pune, was arrested on May 30 in Gurugram after a now-deleted video allegedly hurting religious sentiments triggered widespread outrage.

A Kolkata court had earlier remanded her to judicial custody till June 13.

Her father, Prithviraj, previously refuted the Kolkata Police’s claim that she was absconding.

Speaking to India Today TV, he said both he and Sharmishta had gone to Lalbazar, the Kolkata Police headquarters, and also visited the Anandapur police station.

Despite this, the police labelled her absconding and secured an arrest warrant.

He alleged that the Kolkata Police shared false and misleading information and presented two “visitor slips” bearing their names and photographs, reportedly issued at Lalbazar on May 15, to support his claim.

Although Panoli had deleted the video and issued an unconditional apology, multiple FIRs were filed against her.

The High Court later ordered that all the FIRs be merged into a single case, to be investigated in Kolkata.

The next hearing took place on Thursday, during which she was granted interim bail.

Notably, on Tuesday, the Calcutta High Court had earlier declined her bail request, remarking that freedom of speech is not absolute and does not entitle anyone to hurt religious sentiments.