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Synopsis

The Calcutta High Court has quashed the criminal proceedings against a man accused of making derogatory remarks and mocking West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (CM) and other political leaders on the social media platform YouTube.

A Single judge bench comprising Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta, delivered the verdict citing a lack of evidence and potential abuse of the legal process. The court noted: “if the proceeding is continued, the possibility of conviction of petitioner appears bleak and remote and as such the continuation of the criminal proceedings would put the accused to great oppression and prejudice. Therefore, the continuation of the criminal proceedings would not be justifiable and to secure the ends of justice, the proceeding is deserved to be quashed…”

The case originated from a complaint lodged by Saif Salim on June 30, 2022, alleging that the petitioner, Sourav Paul, in conspiracy with others, broadcasted derogatory speeches on YouTube against Mamata Banerjee and other political leaders. The complaint claimed the content aimed to malign reputations and provoke a breach of peace by endangering social harmony.

Based on the complaint, the police registered a case under Sections 153 (provoking with intent to cause riot), 500 (punishment for defamation), 501 (printing or engraving defamatory matter), 509 (word, gesture, or act intending to insult the modesty of woman), 505 (statements conducing public mischief), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860. Paul was arrested on July 6, 2022, and released on bail the following day. Subsequently, the Investigating Officer (IO) submitted a charge sheet on September 30, 2022, against Paul under the same sections, leading to the court taking cognizance on October 12, 2022.

The petitioner sought the quashing of the criminal proceedings. It was submitted that the petitioner was in no way connected to the alleged offence and the allegations against him were false. It was argued that the investigation lacked substance, and the charge sheet was filed mechanically without proper evidence. It was also emphasised that the trial court erred in taking cognizance solely based on the IO's submission, leading to an abuse of the legal process.

The court noted that while the allegations were serious, the investigation failed to establish Paul’s involvement. The court found that the IO did not retrieve the alleged video clips or content from YouTube, nor did they send the seized Samsung mobile phone for forensic analysis to verify its use in the alleged broadcast. “Mere filing of charge sheet without any material or shaky evidence would not suffice the purpose of continuing trial against the Petitioner,” the court emphasised.

The court also observed that the witnesses, Soheb Khan and Happy Khan, provided vague statements without specific details of the alleged derogatory content. “Both of them only stated that several derogatory speech or videos in the YouTube channel of Sourav Paul were noticed against the Hon’ble Chief Minister of State of West Bengal and other leaders. However, no particulars of videos or contents have been narrated by them against the Hon’ble Chief Minister and other political leaders,” the court stated.

It was further highlighted that despite the court’s directions on February 23, 2024, and March 11, 2024, the State failed to produce a conclusive report or evidence linking Paul to the alleged offence.

The court concluded that the ingredients of the alleged offences were not fulfilled and no data was made available to substantiate the allegations. “After careful scrutiny of the materials available in the case diary, this Court does not find any sufficient or cogent evidence or even prima facie case against the present petitioner,” it held.

In light of these findings, the court quashed all proceedings against the petitioner.

 

Cause Title: Sourav Paul vs. State of West Bengal & Another [C.R.R. 2581 of 2023]

Appearance: For the Petitioner- Advocates Mrityunjoy Chatterjee, Manas Das, and Arindam Poali ; For the State- Advocate Suman De.