BJP activist denied bail without apology for sharing Mamata's meme

Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered that the BJP activist Priyanka Sharma will be granted bail only after she tenders a written apology for putting objectionable picture of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on social media.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked BJP activist Priyanka Sharma to apologise for posting West Bengal Mamata Banerjee's morphed image on social media.

A vacation bench, comprising justices Indira Banerjee and Sanjiv Khanna, on Monday took note of the plea of senior advocate NK Kaul, representing the jailed activist, that her plea challenging the arrest needed to be heard urgently.

Priyanka Sharma, a BJP Yuva Morcha leader, was arrested on May 10 by the state police 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.

The senior advocate said the BJP activist has been forced to move the apex court as there is a complete strike in local courts till May 14 in Howrah and moreover, she has been remanded to 14 days judicial custody by a Howrah local court on May 11.

Sharma allegedly shared on Facebook the photo in which Banerjee's face has been photoshopped on to actor Priyanka Chopra's picture from the MET Gala event in New York.

Her arrest was followed by protests from the BJP and other social media users.

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