New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Friday ordered a status quo in a defamation case filed against BJP leader and lawyer Koustav Bagchi, who is accused of sharing excerpts from a book alleging details about the private life of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
A bench comprising Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan issued a notice to the West Bengal government after hearing Bagchi’s plea challenging a Calcutta High Court order. The High Court had previously dismissed his petition seeking relief from a trial court summons in the defamation case.
The dispute originates from a book first published in 2015, which contained claims about Mamata Banerjee’s alleged private life, including a purported secret marriage before she assumed office as chief minister. Bagchi uploaded selected pages of the book on social media and reportedly commented on the matter during television appearances.
Following this, a public prosecutor filed a complaint with the City Sessions Court under Sections 222(2) BNSS, 2023 (prosecution for defamation) and 356(2) BNS, 2023 (inquiry or trial in absentia of proclaimed offender), after obtaining statutory sanction. The Sessions Court took cognisance, provided Bagchi an opportunity to be heard under Section 223 BNSS, 2023, and issued summons to the lawyer.
The Supreme Court’s status quo order temporarily halts the proceedings, pending further consideration of Bagchi’s plea challenging the trial court summons.