New Delhi, 16 April (H.S.):

Delhi's Saket Court has summoned Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra in a case stemming from her social media post on an Iftar party held on a boat in Varanasi's Ganga River. Additional Sessions Judge Sonu Agnihotri issued the notice while hearing a revision petition challenging a magistrate's refusal to register an FIR against her; next hearing is May 16.

Final-year law student Ram Pravesh Dubey filed the revision after the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) dismissed his March 30 plea seeking FIR under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 196(1) (promoting enmity), 197(1)(c) (prejudicial to national integration), 299 (outraging religious feelings), and 353(1)(b) (spreading rumours).

Dubey alleged Moitra's March 19 X post—questioning arrests of 14 Muslim men for the March 15 Iftar event where non-veg waste was allegedly discarded in the river—hurt his religious sentiments, aimed to incite communal discord, and stoke anti-Muslim bias.

The JMFC ruled no prima facie case existed, finding no evidence Moitra's statement disrupted social harmony, insulted religious beliefs, or incited inter-community offences. No cause to proceed further, the order stated, lacking records of actual disharmony.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar