'Hindu Pakistan' comment: Calcutta HC stays arrest warrant against Shashi Tharoor
Kolkata, Aug 22: The Calcutta High Court on Thursday stayed an arrest warrant issued against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor for the "Hindu Pakistan" remark he had allegedly made last year.
Justice Rajasekhar Mantha stayed the bailable warrant and proceedings against Tharoor, issued by a city court here, till further orders.
He directed Tharoor's lawyer to serve notice on Sumit Chowdhury, who had filed the case against the Congress MP, and fixed the matter for hearing on September 20.
At an event in Thiruvananthapuram, Tharoor had allegedly said that the BJP would rewrite the Constitution and pave the way for creation of a "Hindu Pakistan" if voted to power again.
The statement had sparked off a controversy, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanding an apology.
Tharoor's counsel Ritzu Ghoshal moved the petition ex-parte challenging the warrant against him, claiming that that the summons issued by the chief metropolitan magistrate was faulty and that he was not a resident within its jurisdiction.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Dipanjan Sen had on August 13 issued a bailable warrant against the MP from Thiruvananthapuram on a petition filed by lawyer Sumit Chowdhury, claiming that the statement promoted disharmony among people.
The matter was scheduled for hearing again on September 24.
Chowdhury had claimed that the former union minister was indulging in a deliberate act to promote enmity between different groups of people on religious lines.
The petitioner also claimed that Tharoor's statement had violated section 2 of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Second PUC results: Life convict clears exam with distinction, DGP lauds effort
_vb_63.jpeg)
Bengaluru: A life convict lodged in Ballari Central Prison has successfully cleared the second PUC examination.
Ashok Kumar S, who appeared for the examination under prison escort, secured 481 marks out of 600, registering 80.1 percent.
Director General of Police (Prisons and Correctional Services), Alok Kumar (IPS), shared the development on his official ‘X’ handle, commending the inmate’s achievement.
In his post, he stated that it was heartening to see a life convict score over 80 percent in the examination, adding that the inmate had appeared from Ballari Central Prison under escort.
It’s heartening to see that one of our life convict prisoners Ashok has obtained 80.1% marks in PUC exam. He appeared under Prison escort from Ballari Central Prison for his exams.
— alok kumar (@alokkumar6994) April 9, 2026
Glad to see that Walls of the prison has not subdued his hopes for a better future. pic.twitter.com/Nzlcy076SR
He further noted that the achievement reflected that the “walls of the prison have not subdued his hopes for a better future.”
Alok Kumar in his post also shared the result sheet of Ashok.
The Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) declared the second PUC results for 2026 on April 9.
A total of 6,32,200 students appeared for the examination across all streams, of whom 5,46,698 passed, recording an overall pass percentage of 86.48 per cent.
