The Supreme Court today(August 7) refused to entertain a plea filed by Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra challenging the Calcutta High Court’s order directing her to appear before the investigating officer in a criminal case filed against her for allegedly offending religious sentiments.
On July 21, Justice Saugata Bhattacharyya of the Calcutta High Court granted Moitra interim protection from arrest but directed her to cooperate with the investigation and appear before the investigating officer on August 14.
When the matter was taken up today before a bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Sheel Nagu, the Court stated that she will have to face the investigation. Senior Advocate Gopal Sankarnarayan submitted that she has no issue with appearing for investigation, but it can be done virtually. To this, Justice Datta orally remarked: “Just because you are an MP?”
Sankaranarayan referred to the incidents of eggs thrown on Moitra and stated that if she appears in person, a similar incident may happen. To this, Justice Datta orally stated that an MP shouldn’t fear eggs. He said: “Having taken the plunge into politics, why do you fear eggs [being thrown on you]? Our freedom fighters took bullets on their chest.”
At this, Sankarnayaran requested that he would withdraw the plea, which the Court allowed.
Case Details: MAHUA MOITRA Vs THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL|SLP(Crl) No. 14405/2026 Diary No. 47058 / 2026
Appearances: Sr Adv Gopal Sankarnarayan with Advocates Harshit Anand and Shourya Dasgupta and AoR Yashwant Singh
