‘Lackadaisical Approach’: Court Issues Arrest Warrant Against Mahua Moitra in Hate Speech Case

A court in West Bengal's Nadia district on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra after she repeatedly failed to appear before it despite being served summons in an alleged hate speech case.

The 3rd Judicial Magistrate at the Krishnanagar court directed that the warrant be issued immediately and fixed August 28, 2026 for submission of the execution report.

Court passed the order after noting that Moitra had failed to appear despite repeated opportunities. According to the order, summons had been issued requiring her appearance on August 12, but she did not appear even though she had received the summons. The court then gave her another opportunity without issuing a warrant at that stage.

On August 18, Moitra moved an application under Section 228 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) seeking exemption from personal appearance. Court directed her to appear and said the application would be considered thereafter.

Section 228 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) allows a Magistrate to excuse an accused person from coming to court in person. The Magistrate can let an advocate represent the accused instead. This rule corresponds to Section 205 of the old Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

However, she did not appear on August 19 either.

Taking note of the repeated non-compliance, court said the conduct showed a “lackadaisical approach” towards complying with its orders and that it had no option but to issue a warrant of arrest.

Court also recorded submissions concerning Moitra's non-appearance and her apprehension of being heckled outside the court premises if she appeared in person.

The complaint against Moitra relates to alleged objectionable remarks concerning women and allegations of hate speech.

As per media reports, the present case was filed in the Krishnanagar court on June 17, 2026. The complaint relates to a video message posted by Moitra after an incident in which women had gathered outside the court carrying eggs when they learnt that she was expected to appear there.

According to the complaint, in the video Moitra made remarks that were insulting to women and religiously provocative. The complaint alleges that her remarks hurt religious sentiments and amounted to hate speech.

The complaint invokes Sections 79 (Word/gesture intended to insult modesty of woman), 196 (Promoting enmity between groups), 299 (Outraging religious feelings), 351(Criminal intimidation) and 353(2) (Statements causing communal enmity) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Pre-cognizance summons had earlier been issued to Moitra in the complaint.

The arrest warrant comes amid a separate proceeding involving Moitra over alleged remarks that offended religious sentiments. In that matter, the Calcutta High Court had in July granted her interim protection from coercive action till October 5, subject to her cooperation with the investigation, and directed her to appear before the investigating officer on August 14.

The Supreme Court subsequently declined on August 7 to entertain Moitra's plea seeking permission to appear virtually before the police in that investigation. Her lawyer withdrew the plea after a Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu indicated that it was not inclined to interfere with the high court's direction.

The present arrest warrant has been issued by the Krishnanagar court in the complaint case because of her repeated non-appearance before that court. Court has directed that the warrant's execution report be placed before it on August 28.