Supreme Court Calls for Status Quo in Defamation Case Against BJP Leader

On Friday, the Supreme Court ordered a status quo in a high-profile defamation case involving BJP leader Koustav Bagchi. The case stems from Bagchi's social media activity where he shared excerpts from a controversial book that makes allegations about West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's private life.

A bench composed of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan issued a notice to the West Bengal government following Bagchi's plea against an earlier Calcutta High Court order. Bagchi had challenged a trial court's decision to issue him a summons in the defamation case, a legal battle which finds its origins in a book published in 2015.

The said book reportedly claims that Banerjee was secretly married and includes other alleged details from her personal life. The public prosecutor filed a complaint invoking several sections under the BNSS, 2023, leading the Sessions Court to hear the matter and subsequently issue a summons to Bagchi.