The appeal, submitted on Thursday, has not yet been scheduled for a hearing. On July 15, Justice Krishna Rao issued an interim injunction against Banerjee, two members of the West Bengal State Legislative Assembly, and a leader of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). This order was in response to an interim application by Governor Bose in a defamation suit he filed.
KOLKATA: On 18th July: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has appealed to the Calcutta High Court to challenge a recent order that restrains her from making defamatory and incorrect statements against Governor CV Ananda Bose. The appeal, submitted on Thursday, has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.
On July 15, Justice Krishna Rao issued an interim injunction against Banerjee, two members of the West Bengal State Legislative Assembly, and a leader of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). This order was in response to an interim application by Governor Bose in a defamation suit he filed.
Governor Bose approached the High Court after Banerjee claimed that women no longer felt safe entering the Raj Bhavan due to recent sexual harassment allegations against him. Justice Rao stated that Bose, as a constitutional authority, could not counter personal attacks from Banerjee and other TMC leaders through social media.
The single judge noted that the right to freedom of speech and expression is not absolute and cannot be used to make defamatory statements that harm someone’s reputation.
“The Court believes that in appropriate cases where statements have been made recklessly to injure the plaintiff’s reputation, an injunction is justified. If an interim order is not granted at this stage, it would allow the defendants to continue making defamatory statements and further tarnish the plaintiff’s reputation,”
the Court stated.
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Justice Rao added that the Court can grant injunctions in cases where reckless statements are made to injure the plaintiff’s reputation. Without an interim order, the defendants might continue to defame the plaintiff, thereby harming his reputation further.
Consequently, the Court has prohibited Banerjee and others from making any defamatory or incorrect statements against Bose via publication or social media until August 14.
