The Calcutta high court on Tuesday refused to grant interim bail to Instagram content creator Sharmishta Panoli, who was arrested for allegedly making controversial statements in now-deleted videos against a community in the wake of Operation Sindoor.

In its order, the court observed that the limits of free speech cannot extend to a point where it hurts a person’s or a community’s sentiments, according to Live Law.

Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee, who presiding over the matter, while denying ad-interim bail, said,” Look, we have freedom of speech, but that doesn’t mean you will go on to hurt others. Our country is diverse, with people from different castes, creeds, and religions. We must be cautious by saying this. So, day after tomorrow. Heavens will not fall.”

“This video was made on social media, it was heard, and this incident has led to a section of people’s sentiments being hurt,” he was quoted as saying by Live Law.

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A 22-year-old law student from Pune, Sharmishta Panoli, was arrested by Kolkata Police in Gurugram on Friday for allegedly hurting religious sentiments with a video on Operation Sindoor. 

The Instagram clip, which went viral on social media, was reportedly derogatory towards a particular religion and led to widespread condemnation.

Following the backlash, Panoli deleted the controversial videos and apologised for her remarks. However, she was arrested from Gurugram by Kolkata police later. 

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On Saturday, Panoli was produced before the Alipore Court in Kolkata, which remanded her in judicial custody for 14 days.

According to the Kolkata Police, several attempts were made to serve legal notices to Panoli and her family, but the attempts were unsuccessful because Panoli and her family absconded. Subsequently, an arrest warrant was issued by the court, based on which she was arrested from Gurugram on Friday night.

Panoli’s counsel argued that her arrest was illegal since the offences disclosed in the FIR were non-cognisable and that she had not been served any notice before arrest, which would have been mandatory under the BNSS.

Earlier, her lawyer, Md Samimuddin, said that her health was deteriorating due to poor hygiene and lack of medical care at Alipore Women’s Correctional Home.

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“We are trying our best to get her out of jail before June 13. We will discuss the matter today. We will decide in one or two days about what to do. At Alipore Women’s Correctional Home, proper hygiene is not being maintained around her, and she is unwell. She has kidney stones. She is not being given access to newspapers and magazines. Today, we have filed a petition in the court so that she gets access to her basic rights. Sharmishta is innocent. We are trying our best to get out on bail,” Samimuddin said.