The complainant said Chakraborty, who joined the BJP in the run-up to the polls, had incited violence through his speeches.
Kolkata: The Calcutta high court on Thursday quashed a first information report (FIR) against actor and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Mithun Chakraborty over an alleged controversial speech made during the West Bengal Assembly election campaign earlier this year. The bench, led by Justice Kaushik Chanda, also stayed further investigation into the matter.
The former Trinamool Congress MP was facing a trial for āpreaching violenceā in his speeches while campaigning for the BJP ahead of the March-April polls.
The complaint was lodged by one Mrityunjay Pal, a resident of Kolkata, against Chakraborty on May 6. It said the actor-turned-politician used a monologue from one of his popular Bengali movies in which his character describes himself as a cobra whose bite can kill anyone.
The complainant said Chakraborty, who joined the BJP in the run-up to the polls, had incited violence through his speeches.
The hotly contested Bengal elections where the BJP campaign was led by home minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi Modi brought the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) back to power for the third time with a thumping majority.
After results of the election were announced on May 2, incidents of violence were reported at various places in the state prompting a visit by a four-member team deputed by the ministry of home affairs in affected areas.
The BJP has accused the TMC workers of their involvement in post-poll violence.
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