SC Lawyer Jai Anant Summoned by CBI in Cash-for-Query Case; Alleges Surveillance by Mahua Moitra

The CBI has called upon Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai on January 25 to provide his statement as part of the agency’s investigation into Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra regarding the alleged ‘cash for query’ scandal.

Last month, Moitra was ousted from the Lok Sabha based on the ethics committee’s recommendation for her disqualification due to her purported involvement in the scandal. Dehadrai, who is the complainant in the case, presented evidence against Moitra before the Lok Sabha ethics committee in October.

The committee’s decision to recommend Moitra’s disqualification stemmed from a complaint by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who claimed that Moitra had accepted cash in exchange for posing specific questions in Parliament.

Moitra is accused of raising queries related to the Adani Group of companies in Parliament at the request of businessman Darshan Hiranandani, her alleged rival, and is further accused of sharing her Lok Sabha log-in details with Hiranandani. The ethics committee concluded that Moitra’s actions warranted “severe punishment,” a decision Moitra disputes, denying the allegations against her.