Mahua Moitra booked under new criminal law for social media post on NCW chief

A case has been registered against Mahua Moitra under Section 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Published on: Jul 7, 2024, 18:47:45 IST

By HT News Desk, New Delhi

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Delhi Police on Sunday registered an FIR against Trinamool Congress (TMC) parliamentarian Mahua Moitra for her ‘derogatory’ social media post on National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma.

Also Read | BJP slams Mahua Moitra over remark against NCW chief: ‘Indecent, shameful’

Moitra has been booked under Section 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult modesty of woman) under the newly-enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which came into effect on July 1, replacing the British-era Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The First Information Report (FIR) was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by Sharma, the NCW chief.

Rekha Sharma vs Mahua Moitra

On Thursday, Sharma visited Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, where a stampede occurred at a religious event on July 2, killing 121 people. A day after her visit, a video emerged on microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter) that showed Sharma walking, with her hands free while someone walked behind her holding an umbrella, an action which seemed ‘insensitive’ to many.

Reacting to the video, Moitra wrote: "She is too busy holding up her boss’s pajamas.”

Taking exception to her comment, the NCW called it ‘crude and outrageous.’

“The remarks are a violation of a woman's right to dignity. The Commission observed that this remark attracts Section 79 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023,” the women's panel said in a statement on X.

The Trinamool Congress leader, however, was undeterred, and dared Delhi Police to take ‘immediate’ action against her on these ‘suo moto orders.’

Also Read | Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra dares Delhi Police as NCW seeks FIR over ‘pajama’ remark

“(I) Am in Nadia in case you need me in the next 3 days to make a quick arrest. I Can Hold My Own Umbrella,” the Lok Sabha member from West Bengal's Krishnanagar seat, stated.

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