Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi High Court recused herself from hearing TMC MP Mahua Moitra’s plea challenging the criminal defamation case filed by Zee Media, with the court confirming that the matter will now be listed before another bench next week.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi High Court recused herself from hearing a plea filed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra, who is challenging the criminal defamation case initiated against her by Zee Media.
The Court announced that the case would be assigned to another bench next week.
Justice Sharma remarked,
“I think in this case also, Mr. [Sudhir] Chaudhary will be the concerned person. I think I shouldn’t deal with this. I will list it before another bench. Interim orders to continue,”
It is worth noting that Justice Sharma had previously recused herself from hearing Moitra’s defamation case against Chaudhary.
The conflict began when Chaudhary, then with Zee News, accused Moitra during a broadcast on July 2, 2019, of plagiarizing her parliamentary speech regarding rising fascism in India from an article by Martin Longman, published on the American site Washington Monthly.
Moitra contended that her speech offered a detailed explanation of how the seven signs of fascism apply to the current situation in India.
This broadcast occurred even after Moitra clearly stated that her content was derived from a poster at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in America.
In response to the broadcast, Moitra filed a defamation lawsuit against Zee and Chaudhary, while Zee retaliated by suing her for labeling the news organization a thief.
Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa and Advocate Adit Pujari represented Moitra in court, explaining that shortly after her speech, Chaudhary aired a segment attacking it.
Pahwa stated,
“Later, a journalist from Zee went up to Moitra outside Parliament and said that this was chori ka bhashan (stolen speech). He said it four to five times, and she said in retaliation, ‘Main chor nahi hu aapka channel chor hai (I am not a thief, your channel is a thief).’ And then the channel goes and files a defamation case,”
The ongoing legal dispute between the TMC MP and the news organization dates back to a television segment aired on July 2, 2019. At that time, Sudhir Chaudhary, who was anchoring for Zee News, alleged that Moitra’s parliamentary speech on the “rising fascism in India” was plagiarized.
The segment claimed that her remarks were taken from an article by Martin Longman, published in the American magazine Washington Monthly.
Following this broadcast, Moitra filed a defamation lawsuit against Zee News and Chaudhary. The current petition before the High Court arises from a retaliatory criminal defamation case that Zee Media initiated against Moitra.
Today, Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa, along with Advocate Adit Pujari, represented the TMC MP and detailed the events that led to Zee’s counter-suit. Pahwa informed the Court that shortly after Moitra’s speech in Parliament, Chaudhary aired the critical segment.