Calcutta HC dumps police chargesheet against Union Minister Babul Supriyo

The Calcutta High Court on Wednesday (October 14) quashed a police charge sheet against Union Minister Babul Supriyo for allegedly making “objectionable” comments against Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra during a TV debate in 2017.

TMC MP Mahua Moitra had filed a case against the BJP MP accusing him of outraging her modesty during a TV debate. The police had registered the case and filed a chargesheet.

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The police were directed by a local court in West Bengal to initiate action against Babul Supriyo under Section 509. The high court has quashed the case.

The complaint against Babul Supriyo was lodged at Alipore police station in Kolkata on January 4, 2017. On March 10, 2017, the Alipore chief judicial magistrate had issued a warrant against Supriyo after the police submitted a charge sheet wherein the BJP leader was marked as ‘absconding’. Supriyo, minister of state, had approached the Calcutta High Court challenging the charge sheet.

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Justice Chaudhuri held that the charge sheet does not disclose commission of any offence under Section 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of IPC against the accused.

He said the allegations made in the FIR constitute a non-cognizable offence under Section 500 (defamation) of the Code of Criminal Procedure and no police officer can conduct an investigation in such matters without an order passed by a magistrate to that effect.

Babul Supriyo on Wednesday (October 14) shared images of the operative part of the judgement., which quashed the Kolkata Police charge sheet, on his Twitter account.

• Babul supriyo
• mohua moitra
• calcutta high court
• west bengal