HC grants interim protection to actor-director Parambrata

Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Friday directed no coercive steps against actor and director Parambrata Chatterjee for four weeks in a Gariahat police case filed against a social media post linked to 2021 post-poll violence.

Chatterjee moved the vacation bench of Justice Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee. On May 21, a case was filed against the actor under Sections 153A (1) (a) — which deals with promoting or attempting to promote disharmony, hatred, or enmity between different religious, racial, language, regional, or caste groups — and 109 (abetment) of the IPC. Out of these, 153A is a non-bailable offence.

Advocate Moyukh Mukherjee challenged the proceedings, representing him. The peitition states that the FIR was devoid of any specific averments or any overt act or unlawful conduct of the petitioner. The allegation of conspiracy is not there.

Though the court gave interim protection, Chatterjee was directed to cooperate with the investigation.

He was asked not to prevent the state authorities from submitting a final report after the investigation ends.

Reacting to the case, Chatterjee said, “As the matter is sub-judice before the Honourable High Court, as a responsible citizen, I shall render full cooperation to the process in the coming days, as and when necessary.”

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