Krishnanagar, Aug. 19: Trinamool’s Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra was on Wednesday faced with an arrest warrant from a Krishnanagar court after she repeatedly failed to appear before it in connection with a complaint alleging hate speech and remarks insulting the modesty of women.
The Third Judicial Magistrate’s Court at Krishnanagar directed the police to execute the warrant and submit a report on its execution by August 28. The order comes amid an escalating legal and political dispute over remarks made by Moitra at a news conference in Nadia last year while speaking about alleged infiltration along the India-Bangladesh border.
The complaint was filed by a Krishnanagar-based lawyer on June 17 for her certain statement which she made on June 12, accusing of making statements that allegedly insulted women and promoted hatred between communities. The court had earlier issued summons to Moitra at the pre-cognizance stage.
The magistrate noted that despite repeated summons, Moitra had failed to appear before the court. On Tuesday, the court had specifically directed her to appear on Wednesday. She did not turn up, prompting the magistrate to order the arrest warrant.
“My client is in Delhi and it is quite difficult to appear before a court in Krishnanagar on the basis of a notice within a time limit less than 24 hours”, Moitra’s lawyer said.
Taking a strong view of her repeated absence, the court observed: “The series of disobedience of the orders of this court goes to show the lackadaisical approach of the accused towards complying with the court’s orders. Accordingly, this court is left with no other option but to issue a warrant of arrest against her.” The court further observed, “She has no respect for the court of law.”
The police communication on the order said the magistrate had issued summons to Moitra several times while examining the complaint before eventually issuing the arrest warrant. The charges referred to in the communication include allegedly insulting the modesty of a woman, promoting enmity between groups, outraging religious feelings, criminal intimidation and hate speech.
The development has added another legal flashpoint involving Moitra, one of the Trinamool Congress’s most vocal MPs and a prominent face of the party’s opposition to the BJP. The case also assumes political significance because it has emerged from Krishnanagar, her parliamentary constituency, where the Trinamool and BJP have been engaged in a sharp political contest.
A Trinamool insider close to Moitra, however, disputed the suggestion that the MP had deliberately disregarded the court proceedings. According to the party source, she was scheduled to appear before the court on August 4 and 12 in accordance with the summons, but lawyers in Krishnanagar had boycotted proceedings on both occasions.
“It was apparently because of the alleged misbehaviour of some judges that the Krishnanagar Bar Association had adopted a resolution not to appear before the court. As a result, she could not appear,” the insider said.
The Trinamool source also claimed that a large number of lawyers perceived to be close to the BJP were present on the court premises on Wednesday, making the situation “not secure” for the MP.
Reacting to the arrest warrant, Ttinamool MP Dola Sen said, “We believe in the Constitution and the law of the land. We believe that the law will take its own course. We also believe that dictatorship never has the last word, with due respect to the Krishnanagar court, I am telling you people that the law of the land, the constitution, justice and truth will have the last word”
The police, meanwhile, have formally acknowledged the court’s order and are required to report on the execution of the warrant by August 28. The immediate political and legal focus is now on whether Moitra will appear before the court or seek relief from a higher judicial forum before the warrant is acted upon.