Supreme Court To Hear Mahua Moitra's Plea Against Expulsion From Lok Sabha On January 3

The Supreme Court on Friday (December 15) adjourned until January 3 the hearing of Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra's plea against her recent expulsion from the Lok Sabha over allegations of unethical conduct. 

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti was hearing Moitra's writ petition challenging her expulsion from the Indian parliament's lower house. The former Member of Parliament (MP), who represented the Krishnanagar Lok Sabha seat in West Bengal, faced expulsion on December 8 following the adoption of an ethics committee report accusing her of unethical conduct over the cash-for-query allegations against her.

During the brief courtroom exchange, Senior Advocate AM Singhvi appeared on behalf of the TMC leader. Right at the outset, he objected to the presence of Senior Advocate Harish Salve, who was representing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey, on the strength of whose complaint an inquiry was initiated against Moitra. "He has no locus. His presence today as an MP shows his motivations," Singhvi exclaimed.

In response, Salve told the court, "I have filed an application..."

Even though an application for interim relief was also listed for hearing today along with the main plea, the bench declined to hear the matter today. Justice Khanna said, "Dr Singhvi, I got the file in the morning and did not have time to scan it. Can we keep it on the 3rd or the 4th? I'd like to go through this."

"I'm not objecting to that, I'm only objecting to anyone coming here and...least of all, him," Singhvi replied.

However, the court refused to comment on the issue of the other applicant's locus, before deferring the hearing until January 3. 

Background

The controversy surrounding Moitra unfolded after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in September, based on a complaint by lawyer Jai Anant Dehradai alleging that Moitra accepted money and favours to pose questions in Parliament. Businessman Darshan Hiranandani, in an affidavit to the ethics committee, claimed that Moitra provided him with her Lok Sabha portal login credentials. According to the allegations, the businessman used this access to submit questions to Parliament on Moitra's behalf, giving her cash and gifts in exchange. In the wake of these accusations, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also initiated a preliminary first information report (FIR) in the case.

The parliamentary inquiry against Moitra was launched after Dubey made these allegations against her in October. After completing its probe, the ethics committee adopted its report recommending the legislator's expulsion from the Lok Sabha in connection with the 'cash-for-query' scandal at a meeting on November 9. However, the embattled legislator has consistently denied these allegations, criticising the ethics committee for 'acting without proof' and claiming that it was being weaponised to target the opposition. She has insisted that the ethics committee and its report "has broken every rule in the book". The TMC leader also lamented not being given an opportunity to defend herself in the House during the consideration of the ethics panel's report, or cross-examine her estranged partner and the BJP MP, who levelled the 'cash-for-query' allegations against her.

On December 8, Moitra's expulsion took place amid a walkout by opposition MPs, after the Lok Sabha adopted the ethics committee's report that recommended her expulsion. Prahlad Joshi, union parliamentary affairs minister, tabled the resolution to expel Moitra, based on the committee's finding that she was guilty of sharing her login credentials of the Lok Sabha MP portal with unauthorised people, resulting in national security being compromised, and that she accepted illegal gratification in the form of gifts and other facilities from the businessman for raising queries. Joshi argued that the TMC leader's conduct was highly unethical and unbecoming of a Member of Parliament and that she was liable to be disqualified for breach of privileges and contempt of the House. The motion stated -

“Wherein her conduct has further been found to be unbecoming of a member of Parliament for accepting illegal gratification through gifts and other facilities from a businessman to further his interest which is a serious misdemeanour and highly deplorable conduct on her part, accept the recommendations and findings of the committee and resolve that continuance of Mahua Moitra as member of Parliament, member of Lok Sabha as untenable and she may be expelled."

After the House passed the resolution to expel her, Moitra addressed the press outside the Parliament. The recommendation of expulsion is solely based on the sharing of the login credentials, she said, while adding that there are no rules prohibiting it. She alleged that the process was done to shut out debate on the Adani issue. She also said, "This kangaroo court has only shown to all of India that the haste and the abuse of due process you have used demonstrates how important Adani is to you."

The TMC leader moved the Supreme Court within days of her disqualification. In her petition, she has, among other things, highlighted the lack of opportunity to defend herself during the Lok Sabha discussion on the ethics panel's findings.

Case Details

Mahua Moitra v. Lok Sabha Secratariat & Ors. | Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1410 of 2023