Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra (file picture)
In a separate case involving allegedly objectionable remarks, Moitra had obtained interim protection from the Calcutta HC in July, with the court directing her to appear before the investigating officer on Aug 14 and restraining coercive action until Oct 5.
“The series of disobedience… goes to show the lackadaisical approach of the accused,” the lower court had observed. The arrest warrant had been issued by Krishnanagar’s third judicial magistrate after Moitra repeatedly failed to appear despite summons. Moitra’s counsel had questioned if Krishnanagar court had jurisdiction to try a sitting MP.
Kolkata: Calcutta HC on Monday quashed an arrest warrant issued by the Krishnanagar court against Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra and directed the case to be transferred to the MP-MLA court at Bidhannagar. A division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Aryak Dutt, which had earlier granted an interim stay on the warrant, on Monday quashed it and transferred the matter to the appropriate jurisdictional court.