The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed immediate release of BJP’s youth wing leader Priyanka Sharma on bail, days after she was arrested by the West Bengal Police for allegedly posting a morphed image of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on social media.
The top court directed Sharma to tender a “written apology” at the time of her release from jail for sharing the meme on Mamata saying that freedom of speech of an individual ends when it infringes upon others’ rights.
Sharma was arrested on May 10 by the police under section 500 (defamation) of the IPC and under other provisions of the Information Technology Act on a complaint of a local Trinamool Congress leader Vibhas Hazra.
She was sent to 14-day judicial custody by a trial court there. A vacation bench later clarified that it will not be a condition for bail but she should apologise for sharing the post at the time of her release.