Sharmishta Panoli Jailed for Controversial Remarks, Faces Legal Trouble

Influencer and law student Sharmishta Panoli has been remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody following her arrest over a controversial video that allegedly hurt religious sentiments. The now-deleted video, posted on May 14, criticized Bollywood celebrities and included remarks seen as communally provocative.

Panoli, a fourth-year law student from Pune, gained notoriety for politically charged videos and had over 94,000 Instagram followers. In the controversial clip, she used offensive language targeting public figures like YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia and questioned their silence on Operation Sindoor, India’s military response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.

After facing backlash, she deleted her Instagram posts and issued an apology. Nevertheless, an FIR was lodged against her under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including promoting enmity between communities and offending religious sentiments.

Kolkata Police tracked her to Gurugram after several failed attempts to serve notices, accusing her and her family of evading authorities. On May 31, the Alipore Court denied her bail and sent her to judicial custody until June 13.

Her lawyer argued that police had already seized all digital evidence and custody was unnecessary, but the court rejected the plea. Authorities maintained they followed due legal process based on a court warrant. Panoli’s arrest has sparked wider debate on free speech and responsible content creation on social media platforms.