SC stays defamation case against lawyer over Mamata book posts
14 Mar 2026

The Supreme Court has stayed a defamation case against advocate Koustav Bagchi for posting extracts of a book about West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on social media, according to NDTV.

The book, written by Dipak Kumar Ghosh, allegedly contained details of Banerjee's private life before she became chief minister.

The case was filed after Bagchi shared these extracts on Facebook and allegedly commented on the matter on various television channels.

Bagchi's plea to quash complaint filed
Legal proceedings

The SC bench, comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, interfered in the case.

The court issued a notice and ordered status quo on a plea filed by Bagchi to quash the defamation complaint.

The complaint was filed after he posted extracts of Ghosh's book on social media platforms and also allegedly made comments on the personal life of the chief minister on several television networks.

Book not named in complaint, continues to be in circulation
Defense arguments

Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave represented Bagchi in court and argued that the Calcutta High Court had earlier dismissed his revisional application against a trial court's order taking cognizance of defamation under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS).

Dave also highlighted that the book was never named in the complaint and continues to be in circulation.

He argued that cognizance should only be taken if the conduct is in discharge of "public functions" of a public functionary like Banerjee.

Calcutta High Court upheld issuance of summons
Court's decision

The Chief Judge of City Sessions Court, Calcutta, had earlier taken cognizance of the offense and issued a summons based on Bagchi's social media posts.

The Calcutta High Court had upheld the issuance of summons, stating that the extract relates to Banerjee's oath-taking ceremony and her public functions.

The stay on the defamation case comes as a relief for Bagchi. Meanwhile, the court will hear further arguments in this matter at a later date.