A court in West Bengal’s Nadia district has ordered an arrest warrant against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra for repeatedly failing to appear in an alleged hate speech case. The 3rd Judicial Magistrate at the Krishnanagar court issued the warrant on Wednesday after noting that Moitra had not honoured several summonses asking her to appear before the court. The court also directed that a report on the execution of the warrant be submitted on August 28.

The case against Moitra alleges that she insulted women and made statements amounting to hate speech. The court had earlier issued a pre-cognisance summons to the TMC leader in connection with the complaint. On Tuesday, the judge had specifically directed Moitra to appear before the court on Wednesday. However, she did not attend the hearing.

The court took serious note of her repeated absence. It observed that Moitra had failed to comply with its orders despite being given several opportunities to appear. The judge 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 judge also noted that the lawyer representing Moitra had stated that the TMC MP would not appear before the court at any time. The court said that Moitra has "no respect for the court of law." Her lawyer had expressed concern that Moitra could face heckling outside the court premises if she appeared in person.

A senior official from the Krishnanagar police district said the complaint against Moitra was registered under several provisions. These include Section 79 for insulting the modesty of a woman, Section 196 for promoting enmity between groups, Section 299 for outraging religious feelings, Section 351 for criminal intimidation and Section 353(2) related to hate speech.

The arrest warrant comes amid another legal battle involving Moitra over an alleged hate speech case. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court refused to entertain her plea challenging a Calcutta High Court order that directed her to appear before the police on August 15. A bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu said it was not inclined to interfere with the High Court’s direction.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankarnarayanan, appearing for Moitra, told the Supreme Court that she had a legal right to appear before the police virtually. He said that Moitra had faced threats during her earlier visits to the police station. According to him, she was threatened with eggs being thrown at her during one visit, while eggs were actually thrown at her on another occasion.

The Supreme Court bench, however, asked Moitra to appear before the police. The judges orally observed, "You are a Member of Parliament. Having taken the plunge into politics, you fear eggs?"

The bench also observed, "When our freedom fighters have taken bullets on their chest? These are applications that should not come before this court at all," The court did not entertain the plea, following which Moitra’s lawyer withdrew it and the matter was dismissed.

The Calcutta High Court had earlier granted Moitra interim protection from coercive action in the hate speech case on July 21. The protection was granted until October 5. The TMC leader has reportedly claimed that the allegations against her are fabricated.

Moitra had also approached the High Court seeking an interim order against coercive police action and the quashing of proceedings in the case registered at the Hogolberia police station in Nadia district. The High Court had directed her to appear before the investigating officer for questioning on August 14.

The court had also ordered that no coercive action be taken against Moitra until October 5, subject to her cooperation with the conditions laid down by the court. The protection would remain in force until October 5 or until further orders, whichever comes earlier.

The latest arrest warrant is linked to the Krishnanagar court case and was issued after Moitra failed to appear despite repeated directions. The court has now sought a report on the execution of the warrant on August 28.