Delhi HC scraps Mahua Moitra’s plea on restricting BJP’s Nishikant Dubey, lawyer Jai Dehadrai from making bribery remark

Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed the plea of expelled Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra seeking to restrict BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai from posting defamatory content against her related to the cash for query scam case.

“I have dismissed the injunction application,” a bench of Justice Sachin Datta observed while pronouncing the order.

The plea came in the backdrop of Mahua Moitra's challenge to her expulsion by the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha. The TMC MP was expelled in December 2023 on the allegations that she took a bribe from businessman Darshan Hiranandani for asking questions in the Lok Sabha.

The Ethics Committee said that the TMC MP shared her Lok Sabha login credentials with another person and called it ‘Unethical Conduct’ and ‘Contempt of the House’. "The 'money trail' of cash transaction between Smt Mahua Moitra and Shri Darshan Hiranandani as a part of 'quid pro quo' should be investigated by the Government of India in a legal, institutional and time-bound manner," the report said.

CBI inquiry against Mahua Moitra

The committee also recommended an "intense, legal, institutional inquiry" against Mahua Moitra by the central government.

The Central Bureau of Investigation  (CBI) is currently engaged in a preliminary investigation of the accusations against Mahua Moitra. In February, the TMC leader responded to inquiries posed by the CBI.

The agency is presently analyzing these responses and is poised to compile a report for submission to the anti-corruption ombudsman, Lokpal, who initially referred the case. Additionally, sources have disclosed that the CBI has conducted interviews with Jai Anant Dehadrai and Darshan Hiranandani, according to information received by the news agency PTI.

Mahua Moitra has denied the allegations against her and sent legal notices to Nishikant Dubey, Jai Anant Dehadrai, and several media houses. She also wrote to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla and alleged that BJP MP Nishikant Dubey is trying to gain political advantage from the defamatory allegations against her.