KOLKATA: Calcutta HC advised Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose and CM Mamata Banerjee on Thursday to have a “chai pe charcha” to resolve their differences, saying “it isn’t a good example” for the public to witness a legal battle involving Raj Bhavan and the state government.
Justice Krishna Rao, who was hearing the state’s petition challenging an interim directive restraining it from making any statement against the governor, extended the gag order till April 10.
The case dates back to July 2023, when Bose filed a defamation case against Mamata and three others – MLAs Sayantika Banerjee and Reyat Hossain Sarkar, and former MP Kunal Ghosh – over what he said was “personal imputation” in public. The governor soughtRs 11 crore in damages along with an order barring the respondents from allegedly maligning him. Bose specifically objected to Mamata’s purported remark that “women fear to enter Raj Bhavan” in Kolkata, alluding to allegations against the governor that he molested a former member of his staff.
Later that month, the court restrained the three from “making any defamatory or incorrect statement” against the governor. It said Bose had prima facie made a case for an interim restraint order. Mamata challenged this order on the ground that “justifiable criticism” wasn’t libel, and that the gag order curbed her fundamental right to free speech as a citizen and an elected representative.
The matter is slated to come up for hearing next on April 9.