A court in West Bengal’s Nadia district on Wednesday ordered the issuance of an arrest warrant against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra for not honouring the summons in an alleged hate speech case.
The Krishnanagar court also directed that a report on the execution of the arrest warrant against Moitra be submitted on August 28, news agency PTI reported.
On Tuesday, the judge directed Mahua to appear before the court the next day (Wednesday), but noted that she was not present. A case filed against the TMC leader alleged that she insulted women and made hate speech, for which the court had issued pre-cognisance summons to her. However, the 3rd judicial magistrate at the Krishnanagar court noted that she failed to appear before it despite repeated summonses, ordering that an arrest warrant be issued against the TMC MP immediately. Moitra’s lawyer expressed apprehension to the judge, saying that she might be heckled outside the court premises if the TMC MP appeared.
The court took serious note of Moitra’s absence and said, “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 lawyer representing the TMC leader said that she will not appear before the court at any time, the judge noted, adding that Moitra has “no respect for the court of law.
