Mahua Moitra gets protection from arrest in hate speech case till August 31

Mahua Moitra had moved the high court after a court in West Bengal's Nadia district issued the warrant on August 19, citing her failure to comply with repeated directions to appear before it.The Calcutta High Court's interim order now protects Mahua Moitra from arrest until August 31. (PTI photo/ file)Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Monday got interim protection from arrest from the Calcutta High Court in a case in which a Krishnanagar court had issued an arrest warrant against her.A division bench of Justice Debangshu Basak and Justice Aryak Dutta directed that no coercive action be taken against the TMC MP until August 31. The bench will hear her petition challenging the arrest warrant on August 27.Mahua Moitra had moved the high court after the judicial magistrate of the 3rd court in Krishnanagar issued the warrant on August 19, citing her failure to comply with repeated directions to appear before it.During Monday's hearing, Moitra's lawyer argued that the lower court had issued the warrant without first deciding her application seeking exemption from personal appearance. The application was filed under Section 228 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which allows an accused to seek exemption from appearing personally in court. The case was taken up by the Krishnanagar court on August 18, when Moitra was present in the city. However, proceedings could not take place that day because of a strike by lawyers. The matter was taken up again the following day, when the arrest warrant was issued.The case stems from a complaint filed by Chaina Nandi and five others, who accused Moitra of making allegedly derogatory remarks about the Union home minister, armed forces and Hindu religious beliefs and symbols, including the Tulsi Mala. The complainants claimed that her remarks hurt their religious sentiments. Moitra had earlier said she could not attend the court on August 4 and 12 because she was attending Parliament and the Krishnanagar court was facing a lawyers' boycott. She said that when the court directed her to appear on August 18, she was still in Delhi and her lawyer sought an exemption from personal appearance.According to Moitra, the court instead directed her to appear personally the next morning, leaving her less than 24 hours to travel from Delhi to Krishnanagar. Her lawyer then sought a decision on the exemption plea, but the court issued the arrest warrant.The Krishnanagar court had directed that a report on the execution of the warrant be submitted by August 28. The Calcutta High Court's interim order now protects Moitra from arrest until August 31, with the matter scheduled for further hearing on August 27.- EndsPublished On: Aug 24, 2026 16:55 IST