The woman has been sent to 2 weeks' judicial custody for sharing a morphed photo of Mamata Banerjee. A BJP activist was arrested on Friday in West Bengal for allegedly sharing a morphed photo of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on social media. The activist, Priyanka Sharma, is accused of sharing on her Facebook timeline a photo in which Mamata Banerjee's face has been photoshopped on the form of actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas at the MET Gala in New York. She was picked up by the police from her home. She has been sent to two weeks' judicial custody. A complaint filed at Dasnagar Police station against Priyanka Sharma, a BJP Yuva Morcha leader, accuses her of "violating community guidelines", an official of Howrah City police's Cyber Cell is quoted as telling news agency IANS. The complaint was reportedly filed by a Trinamool leader, Bibhas Hazra. "This is a malicious effort to define our beloved CM who is working tirelessly for our state. We have lodged a police complaint and want stern action to be initiated. She has not just insulted our CM, but also the culture of Bengal," Mr Hazra reportedly complained. The charges cited on the complaint include "defamation and offensive messages". Priyanka Chopra chose a vibrant, edgy look with an unusual hairdo in her interpretation of the theme for the annual fundraiser this year was "Camp: Notes on Fashion". The arrest has provoked anger and strong protests, not just by the BJP but also by other social media users. The BJP's Himanta Biswa Sarma called it an "emergency-like situation" in Bengal. "Appalled at an Emergency-like situation in WB. Freedom of expression is severely curbed. Priyanka Sharma, executive member of @bjym4howrah has been sent to 14-day police custody for posting a Met Gala-themed meme on @MamataOfficial," Mr Sarma tweeted. BJP workers also protested outside the police station where Priyanka Sharma was taken. The hashtag #ISupportPriyankaSharma also trended on Twitter. In 2012, Ambikesh Mahapatra, a chemistry professor at Jadavpur University, was arrested for circulating an email with a caricature of Mamata Banerjee.<doc-sep>NEW DELHI : The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) youth wing worker from West Bengal, Priyanka Sharma, who was arrested for posting a morphed picture of chief minister Mamata Banerjee on social media but asked her to tender an unconditional written apology. Sharma was arrested on 10 May for sharing the morphed photograph in which Banerjee’s face was superimposed on an image of actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas during her appearance at the Met Gala event. A police complaint filed by Trinamool Congress worker Bivas Chandra Hazra alleged that the meme was against community guidelines and Kolkata’s culture. It represented violence and was an insult to the chief minister of West Bengal, Hazra alleged. However, Sharma’s counsel Neeraj Kishan Kaul said that “Such an action against a 25-year-old girl will have a chilling effect on freedom of speech." Kaul said the meme was already viral and she had not made it but just ‘shared’ it like many others. He also submitted that she had deleted the shared post before she was arrested. “There have been so many caricatures and cartoons of BJP leaders but no such thing has happened before. Why is she compelled to apologize now? So, tomorrow if anybody shares a meme, will he be arrested and will he be forced to apologize to get bail?" asked Kaul. He also added that as an officer of the court he is deeply concerned with the order of the court for he completely supports freedom of speech and expression. The vacation bench of the apex court, comprising Justices Indira Banerjee and Sanjeev Khanna, said a person’s freedom ends when it infringes the rights of others. Freedom of speech is non-negotiable but should not be allowed to violate somebody else’s rights, said Banerjee. The court also considered the fact that Sharma was part of a political party. Had it been a regular citizen, the situation and directions could have been mellowed and different, it said. The bench made amendments to its bail order and clarified that this decision of the court “shall not operate as a precedent." The court observed that because the person who shared the morphed picture belongs to a political party the insinuation of posting such a picture is different from that of a common person. Also the meme is of the leader of a contesting political party and hence the court had given such an order. Had it been a common citizen the situation and directions would have been different. The case will be next heard in July on the question of laws concerning the freedom of speech and expression. A notice has been issued to the state of West Bengal. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now! ! Topics<doc-sep>
Arrested BJP activist Priyanka Sharma's lawyer claimed she had no choice but to move the Supreme Court 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 today moved the Supreme Court against her arrest. A vacation bench of Justices Indira Banerjee and Sanjiv Khanna has agreed to hear the matter tomorrow. Ms Sharma's lawyer - Senior Advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul - told the court that his 26-year-old client had no choice but to approach the Supreme Court because of a complete strike in the state. She is seeking bail. Priyanka Sharma is accused of sharing a photo in which Mamata Banerjee's face has been photo-shopped on the form of Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra; in the original picture, the actor, who voted from the Mumbai North West Lok Sabha constituency in this election, was photographed at the MET Gala event in New York City. 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 by news agency ANI. Ms Banerjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have exchanged sharp words this election as they fight to control the state's 42 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP's challenge has become stronger since former Trinamool leader Mukul Roy joined the party. The BJP has accused the state government of corruption, raising issues like the Chief Minister selling her paintings to chit funds for crores of rupees and investigations into Ponzi schemes. In response, Ms Banerjee hit out at the Prime Minister for lowering the level of political discourse with comments like "speed breaker didi". She also alleged on Sunday, during voting in eight constituencies in the state, that RSS workers impersonated central forces to intimidate voters. 9 West Bengal seats will vote in the seventh and final phase of the election on May 19. Overall results will be declared on May 23.