BJP Yuva Morcha leader Priyanka Sharma, who was arrested on Friday for allegedly sharing a morphed photo of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has moved the Supreme Court against her arrest. A vacation Bench of the Supreme Court, comprising justices Indira Banerjee and Sanjiv Khanna, will hear her plea on Tuesday.
Appearing for Priyanka Sharma, senior advocate NK Kaul on Monday told the Supreme Court that his 26-year-old client had no choice but to approach the apex court as there is a complete strike in local courts till May 14 in Howrah and moreover, she has been remanded in 14 days judicial custody by a Howrah local court on May 11.
Priyanka shared on Facebook the photo in which Mamata’s face has been photoshopped on to actor Priyanka Chopra’s picture from the MET Gala event in New York. She was arrested on May 10 by the West Bengal Police.
She was charged under Section 500 (defamation) of the IPC and under other provisions of the Information Technology Act on the complaint of a local Trinamool Congress leader Vibhas Hazra, the plea said.
Earlier, the BJP youth wing activist’s mother claimed her daughter’s arrest was politically motivated. “My daughter was arrested because she worked for the BJP. This is all part of a big plot. This is the first time she is far away from us. Had she been a TMC (Trinamool) worker nothing bad would have happened to her, this is all done by TMC,” she was quoted as saying to news agency.
Her arrest was followed by protests from the BJP and other social media users. Netizens have been criticising Priyanka’s arrest and have been calling out Mamata and her government for attacking her freedom of expression. The hashtag #ISupportPriyankaSharma is doing the rounds on the internet and netizens are criticising the Mamata Government and West Bengal police and demanding her bail.