Calcutta High Court Grants Interim Bail to Influencer Sharmistha Panoli in Religious Sentiment Case

The Calcutta High Court has granted interim bail to 22-year-old influencer Sharmistha Panoli, a law student, who was arrested for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through a now-deleted video.

She was taken into custody by Kolkata Police from Gurugram and released on a ₹10,000 bail bond. 

The video was posted during “Operation Sindoor,” India’s response to the Pahalgam terror attack. Panoli had apologised and deleted the video after public backlash. Her lawyer argued that no offence was made out.

The court emphasised that while freedom of speech is a right, it should not be exercised in a way that hurts religious beliefs.