Calcutta HC Permits Mamata Banerjee to Comment on Governor Bose

The Calcutta High Court on Friday directed that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee may make statements regarding state Governor CV Ananda Bose, provided they conform to the law.

Mamata Banerjee and TMC leader Kunal Ghosh had filed an appeal before a division bench challenging an interim order by a single bench, which had instructed Banerjee and three others not to make any defamatory or incorrect statements against Bose.

A division bench of Justices I P Mukerji and Biswaroop Chowdhury has modified the single bench order, allowing Banerjee and Ghosh to make statements about the governor as long as these statements conform to the laws of the land and are not defamatory.

In a defamation suit filed by Bose, the single bench of Justice Krishna Rao had previously directed Banerjee, Ghosh, and two newly elected TMC MLAs not to make any defamatory or incorrect statements against the governor, in an interim order valid until August 14.

The bench noted that a man’s reputation is sacred and the law provides him the power to protect it. Conversely, every citizen of India is granted freedom of speech and expression, which cannot be suppressed.

However, this freedom is subject to reasonable restrictions, the bench stated.

The court emphasized that every member of the public has the right to know the truth and to bring forth the truth, provided it withstands the test of justification.