Court granted Sharmistha Panoli protection after threats on social media: Lawyer

India Gazette

06-06-2025

Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], June 6 (ANI): Following the interim bail granted to Law student Sharmistha Panoli by Calcutta High Court, her lawyer Kanchan Jaju said that the court has granted her protection after she received threats on social media.
Advocate Kanchan Jaju said that the bail procedure is in process, and after the signature of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), it would be sent to jail, and she would be released at 5 pm.
'The court has granted her protection. She has received threats, and after the court's order to take action against any threat, there should be a reduction in it. On social media, she is receiving a lot of threats. Her parents are happy she got bail,' she added.
MD Saimimuddin said, 'One of the conditions of bail was that the bond would be furnished to the satisfaction of the learned CJM at Alipur. Bond has been furnished. We have deposited an affidavit. We will send the release order from the court soon. There are some formalities of the correctional home. After that, she will be released. She will be released at 5 or 6 pm.'
Sharmistha Panoli, arrested for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through a social media post, was granted interim bail by Calcutta High Court on Thursday.
The court directed her to cooperate with the investigation, not leave the country, and furnished bail on a personal bond of Rs 10,000. The court also ordered appropriate police protection for her. Her father, Prithviraj Panoli, expressed relief, citing her health issues, including kidney problems and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Prithviraj Panoli said, 'I am very happy. No father would like his daughter to stay in jail. Her mother was crying for a long time, but she is very happy now. There were two concerns: her kidney problem and ADHD. She needs regular medicine, but since we didn't have a prescription, the medicine wasn't given in jail.'
'Also, when the video was posted, we found out after two days and told her to delete it. We hoped this would be a lesson for her, and that she would do better in the future,' Panoli said.
According to Sharmistha's lawyer, DP Singh, bail was granted on three conditions: Sharmistha must surrender her passport, cooperate with the investigation, and sign a bail bond.
Singh argued that Sharmistha is a victim of circumstances and that her social media post was a defence of her country based on videos she had seen. He questioned the severity of the response, suggesting that the community's reaction was disproportionate to her actions.
The 22-year-old law student from Pune, Sharmistha Panoli, was arrested by Kolkata Police in Gurugram on May 30, for allegedly hurting religious sentiments of a community with a video on Operation Sindoor. The Instagram clip was reportedly derogatory towards a particular religion. However, Panoli deleted the video and issued an apology on May 15. (ANI)