The Calcutta High Court has set aside the cognizance taken by a Magistrate in Krishnagar in a complaint case against Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra and directed that the matter be transferred to the designated Special Court dealing with cases against MPs and MLAs at Bidhannagar in North 24-Parganas.
A Division Bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Aryak Dutt passed the order on September 7 while disposing of Moitra’s criminal revision petition challenging the cognizance taken in Complaint Case No. 309 of 2026, pending before the 3rd Judicial Magistrate at Krishnagar in Nadia.
The Court directed that the complaint be treated as being at the pre-cognizance stage before the transferee court. Consequently, the order taking cognizance and all consequential orders passed by the Magistrate were set aside.
The Bench noted that the complaint was pending against Moitra, a sitting Member of Parliament, before the 3rd Judicial Magistrate, Krishnagar. However, it observed that the Magistrate was not the designated court for trying offences involving Members of Parliament and Members of State Legislatures.
Referencing the precedent set in Ashim Kumar Upadhyay v. Union of India & Anr. (2017 SCC OnLine SC 2195) and surrounding jurisprudence, the High Court underscored that proceedings against Members of Parliament and State Legislatures are required to be fast-tracked before designated special courts.
Various issues were raised before the Bench, including the jurisdiction of the Division Bench to entertain the criminal revision petition. However, the Court said it was not inclined to enter into the debate raised by the parties.
Refusing to adjudicate the specific legal contentions raised by the respective parties, the Bench elected to transfer the proceedings to the designated Special Court at Bidhannagar.
The High Court requested the District Judge, Nadia, to transmit all records of Complaint Case No. 309 of 2026 to the District Judge, North 24-Parganas, forthwith. The District Judge, North 24-Parganas, was directed to immediately transmit the records to the appropriate Special Court at Bidhannagar upon receipt.
The Special Court was requested to proceed against Moitra and the other accused in accordance with law, treating the complaint as being at the pre-cognizance stage.
The court ruled that since the new court is taking over the case at the pre-cognizance stage, all prior orders made by the previous magistrate, including the initial decision to take cognizance, are now null and void.
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