Kolkata, August 24: The Kolkata High Court has suspended the arrest warrant issued against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra by the Krishnanagar court in Nadia district. The warrant was issued due to her failure to appear in court.
A division bench comprising Justices Debangshu Basak and Aryak Dutta has scheduled a hearing for August 27. On that date, the court will listen to the complainant’s arguments regarding allegations against Moitra for making derogatory remarks about women and delivering hate speech.
The bench ordered that no action could be taken against Mahua Moitra until August 31.
On August 19, a court in West Bengal issued the arrest warrant in connection with controversial comments made by Moitra about the Indian Army. Despite multiple summons, she did not appear in court, leading to the issuance of the warrant on the last day of her scheduled appearance.
Moitra faces accusations not only regarding the Indian Army but also for making offensive comments about Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Additionally, her remarks concerning women wearing tulsi mala, burqas, and hijabs have sparked controversy. A resident of Krishnanagar recently filed a petition in court in light of these comments.
The complainant’s lawyer, Tipendu Das, stated that several summons had been issued to Moitra previously, requiring her personal appearance in Krishnanagar court. However, she failed to attend even once.
Following her comments, multiple charges were filed against Moitra under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Indian Citizen Security Code (BNS). The charges relate to undermining women’s dignity, inciting hostility between different groups, hurting religious sentiments, and delivering hate speech.
On Monday, Moitra’s lawyer informed the High Court that the lower court judge issued the arrest warrant without hearing her statement. The hearing in the lower court took place on August 18, where Moitra was present, but the proceedings could not continue due to a bar association strike.
Her lawyer further argued that the case was rescheduled for hearing on August 19, the day the arrest warrant was issued. He contended that the lower court lacked jurisdiction to hear this petition, asserting that it should be handled by the special MP-MLA court.
After considering arguments from all parties, the division bench of Justices Debangshu Basak and Aryak Dutta stated that the case would be heard on August 27. They also reiterated that no action could be taken against Mahua Moitra until August 31.
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