The Bengal government has been issued a contempt notice by the Supreme Court for delaying the release of BJP member Priyanka Sharma.
This is in connection with her arrest in May for a meme on the Bengal Chief Minister. She was released nearly 24 hours after the Supreme Court ordered her released on May 14.
While ordering her release, the top court had observed that the arrest of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha’s Priyanka Sharma appeared to be “arbitrary”. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi issued notices to the state government and others on the contempt plea filed by the activist’s brother Rajib Sharma.
Priyanka Sharma was arrested on May 10 after she posted a superimposed photograph of Mamata Banerjee in Priyanka Chopra’s clothing from the Met Gala event in New York held on May 6, on social media. The 26-year-old was charged with penal provisions relating to defamation, uploading offensive content and distributing sexually explicit material.
Priyanka Sharma is a BJP Yuva Morcha leader and was charged under section 500 (defamation) of the Indian Penal Code and under provisions of the Information Technology Act. The complaint was made by a local Trinamool Congress leader.
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On May 14, a vacation bench of the Supreme Court had granted bail to Priyanka Sharma.
Rajib Sharma has approached the apex court alleging that there was a delay of over 24 hours in releasing his sister from jail, despite the court’s May 14 order.