Social media posts: SC distinguishes between arrests of BJP youth wing leader and scribe Kanojia

The Supreme Court Tuesday made a distinction between the cases pertaining to the arrests of BJP youth wing leader Priyanka Sharma and journalist Prashant Kanojia for making allegedly objectionable comments on social media.

Sharma was arrested last month by West Bengal police on a defamation complaint filed by a local Trinamool Congress leader for making allegedly objectionable meme of Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee.

The top court had on May 14 granted bail to Sharma but had asked her to tender a written apology at the time of her release from jail for sharing the meme, saying that the freedom of speech of an individual ends when it infringes upon others' rights.

While hearing Kanojia's case on Tuesday, a vacation bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and Ajay Rastogi said, "In case of Priyanka Sharma, we have seen the post (meme) made on social media which was derogatory in nature and that's why we had asked her to apologise."