Kolkata: The Calcutta High Court on Tuesday restrained West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and three others from making any defamatory or incorrect statement against Governor CV Ananda Bose, observing that the freedom of speech is "not an unfettered right" under which defamatory statements can be made.
In an interim order, Justice Krishna Rao said the governor is a constitutional authority and "cannot meet the personal attacks being made by the defendants against him by taking the benefit of social media platforms".
The governor had filed a defamation suit against Banerjee for making certain remarks during an administrative meeting while commenting about the row over the oath-taking of the two newly-elected TMC MLAs -- Sayantika Banerjee and Reyat Hossain Sarkar. Bose also filed a case against the legislators and party leader Kunal Ghosh.
"If at this stage, an interim order is not granted, it would give the free hands to the defendants to continue making defamatory statements against the plaintiff and continue to tarnish the reputation of the plaintiff," Justice Rao said and restrained Banerjee and the three others from "making any defamatory or incorrect statement against the plaintiff (Bose) by way of publication and on social platforms till August 14, 2024."
Observing in its order that Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution affords the right of freedom of speech and expression to all persons, the court said that the same is, however, subject to restrictions under Article 19(2), which includes defamation.
"Therefore, the right to freedom of speech and expression is not an unfettered right in the garb of which defamatory statements can be made to tarnish the reputation of a person," Justice Rao observed.
The judge said that the fundamental right of freedom of speech has to be balanced with the right to the reputation of an individual, which has been held to be a basic element of the right to life as provided under Article 21 of the Constitution. Rao said the matter will be heard again on August 14.
Welcoming the order, Bose said that he would pray to the almighty to throw light on Banerjee's path while Banerjee's lawyer Sanjay Basu said in a statement that the order of the court would be challenged before a higher bench. The West Bengal governor also prayed for an interim order restraining them from making any further comment in connection with alleged incidents at Raj Bhavan.
A row had triggered over the venue of the swearing-in ceremony of the two MLAs last month, as they wanted to be administered oath in the assembly, while the governor was in favour of holding it in the Raj Bhavan. The court gave two weeks to Banerjee and the three others to file their affidavits and reply by Bose to them within one week thereafter.
During the hearing on Monday, after which the court reserved the order, Banerjee's counsel S N Mookherjee said she stood by her statement as it involved public interest. The governor welcomed the Calcutta High Court's interim order.
Bose told PTI, "Truth will triumph. I pray to God to throw light on the path of Mamata Banerjee. This is a God-sent for me. I would like to dedicate myself to the service of the people of Bengal."
