Context
Swarajya Staff
Jan 30, 2023, 10:39 AM | Updated 10:39 AM IST
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2. Tweet for thought: Relief after 10 years for Mamata cartoon forward!
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra had once spoken about the "danger of fascism rising in India." But this latest case — or rather, its conclusion — coming out of Bengal suggests that the boot is on the other foot.
Prof Ambikesh Mahapatra was cleared of charges 10 years after a criminal case was raised against him for forwarding a cartoon that featured the chief minister Mamata Banerjee.
A case was registered against Mahapatra in April 2012 at Purba Jadavpur police station in Kolkata.
The Jadavpur University professor was arrested on 14 April 2012 and later granted bail by a court.
A week ago, the additional sessions judge, tenth court, set aside an order of the chief judicial magistrate of the Alipore court (14 September 2021) that had rejected the professor's prayer for discharge from the case.
>> This is a victory for democracy. Those who are fighting for democracy will feel encouraged by this verdict. A criminal conspiracy was hatched against me by the police and the state government. — Prof Ambikesh Mahapatra
"(Moitra) is right. We should be worried. Very worried. Prof Ambikesh Mahapatra could be any one of us," Kanchan Gupta, Senior Adviser, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, said in a tweet.