The Calcutta High Court on Thursday criticised Bengali actress Sreelekha Mitra over her display of a poster carrying an objectionable caricature of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a protest rally in Kolkata, while granting her interim protection from coercive police action, including arrest, until December 24.
A single-judge bench of Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya described the poster as “distasteful” and questioned the decision of a public figure to display such material.
“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,” the court remarked.
At the same time, the court directed police not to take coercive action against Mitra until December 24. Noting that 16 FIRs had been registered in connection with the incident, the bench directed Anandapur Police Station to consolidate the complaints and conduct a coordinated investigation.
Mitra was directed to cooperate fully with the investigation. The court also ordered police to provide her at least 48 hours’ notice before summoning her for questioning.
The bench made it clear that the interim protection could be withdrawn if the actress failed to cooperate with investigators.
The court directed police to submit a progress report on the investigation at the next hearing, scheduled for December 14.
The controversy relates to a protest march organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) in July over allegations concerning the NEET-UG question paper leak. The demonstration, which saw clashes between protesters and police in parts of central Kolkata, featured Mitra 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. Subsequently, similar complaints were filed at the Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station and several district police stations across West Bengal.
The BJP had demanded the actress’ immediate arrest in connection with the poster controversy.