Bengal court issues arrest warrant against TMC MP Mahua Moitra in hate speech case

A court in West Bengal issued an arrest warrant against Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra on Wednesday for failing to honour repeated summons in a hate speech case. The case relates to comments Moitra made at a press conference in Nadia in August 2025 while speaking about infiltration along the India-Bangladesh border.

The 3rd judicial magistrate at the Krishnanagar court directed that the arrest warrant be issued immediately and ordered that an execution report be submitted on August 28.

On Tuesday, the court had asked Moitra to appear on Wednesday, but she did not turn up. Her lawyer told the court that the MP would not appear at any point, citing fears that she could be heckled outside the court premises.

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The court took a strong view of her repeated absence and said her conduct showed a “lackadaisical approach” towards complying with its orders.

“The series of disobedience of the order of this court .... goes to show the lackadaisical approach of the accused to comply with the court order and accordingly this court is left with no other option but to issue a warrant of arrest against her,” the judge said in the order.

The judge also recorded that Moitra’s lawyer had said she would not appear before the court and observed that she had “no respect for the court of law”.

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What is the hate speech case against TMC MP?

The case against Moitra is over a complaint on a video message she released after an incident in which women gathered outside the court carrying eggs when they heard that the Krishnanagar Trinamool Congress MP was expected to appear.

In the video, Moitra advised the women to wear veils and organise various programmes. The video was widely circulated on social media.

The complainant alleged that Moitra’s remarks hurt religious sentiments and amounted to religiously provocative comments that insulted both religions.

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The complaint was registered under sections 79, 196, 299, 351 and 353(2), which relate to allegedly insulting the modesty of a woman, promoting enmity between groups, outraging religious feelings, criminal intimidation and hate speech.

Court gave multiple chances to appear

The court had repeatedly directed Moitra to appear in connection with the complaint, but she did not comply, prompting the magistrate to issue the arrest warrant.

She was given time until 5 pm on Wednesday to appear before the court. However, she did not turn up, following which the court proceeded with the warrant order.

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Lawyer cites fear of heckling, eggs being thrown

Moitra’s lawyer told the court that the MP was apprehensive about appearing because of the possibility of being heckled outside the court premises.

The court nevertheless rejected the repeated absence as a reason to defer the proceedings further, pointing to the number of summons already issued to the MP.

‘You are MP, fear eggs? Freedom fighters took bullets’

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court refused to entertain Mahua Moitra’s plea challenging an order of the Calcutta high court directing her to appear before the police on August 15 in another hate speech case.

A top court bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu said it was not inclined to interfere with the HC’s order.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankarnarayanan, appearing for Moitra, submitted before the court that the last time the TMC leader went to the police station, eggs were thrown at her.

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However, the apex court bench asked her to appear before the police, observing orally, “You are a Member of Parliament. Having taken the plunge into politics, you fear eggs?”

“When our freedom fighters have taken bullets on their chest? These are applications that should not come before this court at all,” the bench observed.