Archive · 2 Sep 2026
Calcutta High Court Denies Urgent Relief to Newspaper Journalists
A newspaper used the phrase “saffron hooliganism” to describe a student clash.
The clash happened at Jadavpur University in Kolkata on August 20.
Groups connected to ABVP and the Left blamed each other for the violence.
Several students were injured and taken to a hospital.
An FIR was later filed against members of the newspaper’s editorial team.
The journalists asked the Calcutta High Court for immediate protection.
The court said their case should follow the normal legal process instead.
The hearing came after men protesting outside the newspaper painted its building saffron.
The Calcutta High Court declined urgent relief to Anandabazar Patrika journalists facing an FIR over a “saffron hooliganism” headline.
The headline described August 20 clashes between ABVP and Left-affiliated groups at Kolkata’s Jadavpur University.
The FIR names the newspaper’s editorial team, including editor Ishani Dutta Roy and chief reporter Soma Mukherjee.
The journalists’ lawyer said a petition seeking to quash the FIR had already been filed and requested immediate intervention.
The hearing followed a protest outside the newspaper’s office, where men in saffron clothing smeared paint on the building.
- Who
- Anandabazar Patrika journalists, including Ishani Dutta Roy and Soma Mukherjee, are facing an FIR; the Calcutta High Court heard their request.
- What
- The court declined urgent relief in a case over the newspaper’s use of “saffron hooliganism” in a headline.
- When
- The court hearing took place on Wednesday, after clashes on August 20 and a protest the previous day.
- Where
- The legal proceedings were before the Calcutta High Court; the underlying clash occurred at Jadavpur University in Kolkata.
- Why
- The FIR followed the headline describing the clashes as “saffron hooliganism”; the court said a quashing petition should proceed through the regular process.
Journalists and Newspaper
FIR Complainants and Protesters
Description of the clashes
Journalists and Newspaper
Anandabazar Patrika described the incident as “saffron hooliganism,” or “gerua gundami.”
FIR Complainants and Protesters
The phrase was treated as an insult to saffron symbolism, and protesters outside the newspaper shouted that India would not tolerate such an insult.
Responsibility for the violence
Journalists and Newspaper
The report concerned clashes involving ABVP and Left-affiliated groups, which the newspaper characterized through its headline.
FIR Complainants and Protesters
ABVP and Left-affiliated groups each blamed the other for the violence and accused the other of bringing outsiders onto the university campus.
Urgency of legal relief
Journalists and Newspaper
The journalists’ lawyer sought immediate intervention and said a petition to quash the FIR had already been filed.
FIR Complainants and Protesters
The High Court said the matter should be filed and heard according to the regular applicable procedure rather than receiving urgent relief.
- Newspaper
- Anandabazar Patrika
- Headline phrase
- “Gerua gundami,” translated as “saffron hooliganism”
- Underlying incident
- Clashes between ABVP and Left-affiliated student groups
- Incident date
- August 20
- Location
- Jadavpur University, Kolkata
- FIR respondents
- The newspaper’s editorial team, including Ishani Dutta Roy and Soma Mukherjee
- Court action
- Urgent relief was declined; the court indicated that the FIR-quashing petition should be heard in the regular course