Ambikesh Mahapatra

Ambikesh Mahapatra is an Indian academic with the Department of Chemistry at Jadavpur University, He gained national attention due to his arrest in 2012 for sharing a satirical cartoon about West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, leading to a prolonged legal battle where he spent 10 years in jail before his acquittal in 2023. His persecution has been recognized as a symbol of Mamta Bannerjee's intolerance for dissent.^[1]

Background

Mahapatra earned his Ph.D. from Jadavpur University in 1991. Since 2001, he has been serving as a professor in the Department of Chemistry at the same institution. His research interests include physical chemistry and chemical kinetics.^[2] Throughout his career, Mahapatra has published extensively in the fields of physical chemistry and chemical kinetics. His work has been cited over 900 times.^[2]

Assault and imprisonment

In April 2012, Mahapatra forwarded an email containing a satirical cartoon that depicted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in a critical light. The cartoon was a commentary on the political scenario involving the replacement of the then Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi with Mukul Roy.

The day after he shared the email, he was accosted and attacked by a group of 70-80 members of the Trinamool Congress, forced to write a confession statement admitting to be a member of the rival Communist Party of India (Marxist).^[3] He was charged with defamation and outraging the modesty of a woman, as well as under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act.^[4]

Mahapatra noted in 2013 that he had 'very little hope for justice'.^[5] Bannerjee also commented on the case, saying "Conspiracies won't be tolerated."^[6]

Acquittal

Mahapatra eventually approached the West Bengal Human Rights Commission^[7] which was then headed by Justice Ashok Kumar Ganguly. The Jadavpur police admitted in a written statement that they had arrested Mahapatra without even seeing the alleged cartoon that he had circulated and for which charges are being framed against him.^[8]

After nearly 11 years and 72 rounds of legal proceedings,^[9] a local court in Kolkata discharged Mahapatra from the case in January 2023. The court's decision brought relief to Mahapatra, who had faced prolonged legal challenges and personal hardships due to the case.^[10] Following his acquittal, he was awarded Rs. 50,000 as compensation, but he claims said money was never disbursed, despite a further Calcutta High Court ruling mandating them to, yet the government has as of yet failed to comply.^[8][11][3]

Legacy

Following his acquittal, Mahapatra expressed concerns about the misuse of legal provisions to suppress dissent and highlighted the need for safeguarding democratic rights in India. His persecution has been recognized as a symbol of Mamta Bannerjee's intolerance for dissent.^[1]

See also

• Shreya Singhal v. Union of India
• Mamata Banerjee
• Nupur Sharma