Calcutta High Court asks police for SOP against social media posts targeting judges

The Calcutta High Court has directed the West Bengal Director General of Police (DGP) to produce a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for taking action in relation to the social media posts targeting judges.

Justice Jay Sengupta passed the order on May 21 after the Court was informed that a video on YouTube cast “wanton aspersions" on the Court in relation to a case seeking quashing of rape charges against Padma Shri awardee Hindu monk Swami Pradiptananda alias Kartik Maharaj.

“Even on a day when this Bench did not sit, certain imputations were cast as if some adverse steps were being taken inside closed doors. That apart, there were defamatory and contumacious outbursts made against the Judges of this Court in general. There were other videos as well that were very disturbing indeed,” the Court noted.

In a case registered by Nabagram police station, it was alleged that Maharaj in 2013 raped a woman multiple times after offering her a teaching job at a school under Bharat Sevashram Sangha. The victim also accused him of forced abortion and criminal intimidation.

In the petition filed last year, Maharaj denied the allegations and claimed that he was targeted by the Trinamool Congress government and then Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. In an application for holding in-camera proceedings in the case, Maharaj pointed to videos allegedly targeting him and the judges hearing his case.

The Court will hear the matter on June 22.

Senior Advocate Billwadal Bhattacharyya with Advocates Moyukh Mukherjee, Sagnika Banerjee, Megha Datta and Tamoghna Pramanick appeared for the petitioner.

Advocate K Bhattacharya represented the State.

[Read Order]