On Monday, the Supreme Court intervened to halt the arrest of Wajahat Khan Qadri, the individual whose complaint resulted in the detention of Sharmishta Panoli, a 22-year-old law student. This stay applies to all first information reports (FIRs) filed against him outside of West Bengal.

Panoli, who is in her fourth year of business and law studies at a university in Pune, was apprehended by Kolkata Police in Gurugram on May 30 due to her comments regarding Prophet Muhammad made on social media. She later removed the post and issued an apology on X.

In the wake of Panoli's arrest, multiple complaints were lodged against Qadri in West Bengal, including two at the Garden Reach Police Station, accusing him of making derogatory remarks that allegedly hurt religious sentiments.

Additional complaints against Qadri emerged from various regions, including Mumbai, Delhi, and Assam. On June 9, Kolkata Police arrested him for allegedly posting inflammatory comments online.

The Supreme Court's ruling on Monday noted that Qadri is already in police custody for one case from West Bengal and in judicial custody for another. The bench, comprising Justices KV Viswanathan and N Kotiswar Singh, also acknowledged Qadri's writ petition, which requested the consolidation of FIRs filed against him in Assam, Maharashtra, Delhi, and Haryana.

Qadri had previously called for action against Panoli on social media and celebrated her arrest. His counsel argued that Qadri was facing the consequences of his actions, as he had already apologized and deleted the contentious posts.

Despite this, the court emphasized that Qadri's comments do not align with the principles of free speech, stating that 'hate speeches will not take us anywhere.'

The initial complaint against Qadri was lodged by the Hindutva group, Shri Ram Swabhiman Parishad, on June 2, claiming that his posts incited animosity between religious communities and demanded his arrest for offending 'Hindu sentiments.'

In Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma confirmed that an FIR was filed against Qadri for allegedly making unacceptable remarks about Devi Maa Kamakhya.