Actor-director Parambrata Chatterjee has approached the Calcutta High Court seeking relief in connection with an FIR registered against him over a social media post made during the aftermath of the 2021 West Bengal Assembly election results.
The case stems from a post shared on May 2, 2021, the day election results were declared in the state. A complaint filed at Kolkata’s Gariahat Police Station alleged that remarks made online by Chatterjee, along with a response from actor Swastika Mukherjee, contributed to an atmosphere that encouraged post-poll violence.
According to the complaint, Chatterjee had posted, “Let today be declared World Beating Day,” a remark that later became the subject of legal scrutiny. Swastika Mukherjee had responded to the post with a comment expressing agreement, prompting investigators to examine whether the exchange could be interpreted as endorsing violence.
The FIR invokes provisions related to abetment and promoting hostility between groups. Legal proceedings intensified this week after Chatterjee moved the Calcutta High Court seeking anticipatory bail and the quashing of the FIR. The matter was placed before the court amid growing public and political attention.
Mukherjee has already appeared before police and recorded her statement as part of the investigation. Chatterjee, meanwhile, has challenged the allegations through legal channels.
Reacting to the controversy earlier, Chatterjee’s wife, Piya Chakraborty, described the allegations as “a ridiculous claim,” arguing that the original post was intended as a sarcastic reference to political rhetoric prevalent at the time.
The case has reignited debate over freedom of expression, political commentary by public figures, and the continued legal fallout from the violence that followed the 2021 Assembly election results in West Bengal. While investigators maintain that the complaint warrants examination, supporters of the actors have questioned the timing of the case, given that the social media exchange dates back five years.
