Delhi HC Adjourns Mahua Moitra’s Defamation Plea Against Nishikant Dubey to Oct 31

The legal dispute between TMC MP Mahua Moitra and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey reached the Delhi High Court on Friday, with Dubey’s lawyer alleging that Moitra had received gifts in exchange for asking questions in Parliament.

Advocate Abhimanyu Bhandari, representing Nishikant Dubey, informed Justice Sachin Datta, “A businessman has recently circulated an affidavit stating that he had given valuable gifts to the petitioner,” referring to Mahua Moitra.

Meanwhile, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankarnaryan, representing Mahua Moitra, emphasized her public standing but acknowledged her association with Dehadari while requesting an interim injunction.

During the proceedings, Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai, against whom an injunction was also sought, objected to Sankaranarayanan representing the case. Dehadrai personally appeared in court and claimed that Sankaranarayanan had contacted him the previous night, proposing the withdrawal of a CBI complaint in exchange for some form of compensation.

Following these revelations, Sankaranarayanan withdrew from the case, leading to an adjournment until October 31.

Gopal Sankarnaryan, speaking to the media outside the court complex, stated, “I have no comments except to say that because Jai instructed me in a case, I reached out to him yesterday to explore a settlement. However, he did not respond. When I appeared today, Jai personally expressed his objection to my appearance. Consequently, I withdrew from the case.”

The Delhi High Court was scheduled to hear Mahua Moitra’s application, seeking directions to restrain Nishikant Dubey, Jai Anant Dehadrai, and various social media platforms and media outlets from disseminating any defamatory content about her.

The High Court had previously issued notices to the defendants in response to Moitra’s suit. Moitra found herself at the center of a political controversy after Nishikant Dubey filed a complaint with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, alleging that she had accepted bribes from a business house to raise questions in Parliament.

The Ethics Committee of Parliament has summoned both Nishikant Dubey and Advocate Dehadrai to provide oral evidence regarding the complaint in the alleged ‘Cash for Query’ scandal. Nishikant Dubey, in his letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker titled “Reemergence of nasty ‘Cash for Query’ in Parliament,” accused Moitra of committing a “Serious Breach of Privilege,” “Contempt of the House,” and a “Criminal Offence” under Section 120A of the IPC. Moitra responded to the letter, expressing her willingness to cooperate with the Speaker’s investigation after addressing alleged breaches of privilege by other BJP MPs.

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