Calcutta High Court Seeks Response From WB Police Over SOP For Action Against Social Media Posts Targeting Judges
The Calcutta High Court has sought a response from the West Bengal Police on whether any Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) exists to deal with social media posts targeting judges and judicial proceedings, after taking serious note of allegedly defamatory YouTube videos concerning an ongoing case before the Court.
Justice Jay Sengupta passed the direction on May 21, 2026, while hearing a plea filed by Maharaj Swami Pradiptananda @ Kartik Maharaj.
The Court recorded that certain YouTube videos had made “wanton aspersions” against the Bench and judges of the Calcutta High Court in relation to the pending proceedings. The order noted:
“Even on a day when this Bench did not sit, certain imputations were cast as if some adverse steps were being taken inside closed doors. That apart, there were defamatory and contumacious outbursts made against the Judges of this Court in general. There were other videos as well that were very disturbing indeed.”
Taking note of the issue, the Court directed the Director General of Police, West Bengal, to file a report indicating whether the State police has any SOP in place for taking action against “grossly offensive, evidently false and contumacious social media posts”, including mechanisms for removal of such content.
The Court granted four weeks for filing of the report and directed that the matter be listed on June 22, 2026 at 2 PM under the heading “To Be Mentioned”.