Mahua Moitra had filed a case in the High Court, objecting to a Facebook post by Nishikant Dubey and a screenshot of that post shared by Jai Anant Dehadrai on the platform X (formerly Twitter). She claimed that the posts were defamatory and untrue.
NEW DELHI: 9th May: The Delhi High Court, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nishikant Dubey and advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai informed the Court that they will remove the social media posts made against Trinamool Congress (TMC) Member of Parliament (MP) Mahua Moitra.
Mahua Moitra had filed a case in the High Court, objecting to a Facebook post by Nishikant Dubey and a screenshot of that post shared by Jai Anant Dehadrai on the platform X (formerly Twitter). She claimed that the posts were defamatory and untrue.
During the hearing on Friday, Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora took note of the fact that Dubey had already removed his Facebook post. Advocate Dehadrai, who was present in person, agreed to delete the tweet as well. Based on this, the Court disposed of Moitra’s plea.
Earlier, Advocate Samudra Sarangi, representing Moitra, told the Court that the social media posts were “defamatory, baseless and made without justification.”
Senior Advocate Abhimanyu Bhandari appeared for Dubey and defended the post by referring to a report from the Lokpal, which allegedly involved a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe regarding Moitra’s foreign bank accounts.
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Bhandari said, “Lokpal has issued a detailed judgment. Everything I said is exactly taken from there in the tweet. CBI enquiry was done. The allegations are damning. There is wrongdoing which is what I have said in the post.”
However, the Court pointed out that the Lokpal report, which Dubey and Dehadrai relied upon, did not clearly support the serious allegations made against Moitra in their posts. Therefore, the Court urged them to remove the posts from social media.
The Court said, “Prima facie this document does not support your allegations. Until then you please deactivate this.”
Dubey’s lawyer had also mentioned a certain letter that formed the basis of the social media posts. But the Court noted that the lawyer could not give full details of the letter, raising further questions about the source of the claims.
In a surprising turn, Dubey complained to the Court that Mahua Moitra often refers to him using a derogatory nickname, ‘Pitbull’. The Court then asked Advocate Sarangi to speak to Moitra regarding this issue.
This recent hearing was related to a fresh application filed by Moitra as part of her ongoing defamation case against Dubey and Dehadrai. The matter has been in the spotlight for months due to serious allegations against the TMC MP.
Dubey and Dehadrai had earlier accused Mahua Moitra of misusing her position in Parliament. They alleged that she gave her Parliament login credentials to businessman Darshan Hiranandani in exchange for luxurious gifts and other favours.
They also claimed that Hiranandani used Moitra’s official account to post parliamentary questions that benefitted him. According to their allegations, 50 out of 61 questions raised by Moitra in Parliament were actually drafted by Hiranandani.
These allegations led to a major inquiry by the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee, which recommended that Moitra be removed from her position as an MP. She was expelled from the Parliament on December 8, 2023.
Moitra, however, strongly denied all the allegations and said there was no quid pro quo. She clarified that Hiranandani is a friend and that the accusations are part of a political vendetta.
Case Tile:
MAHUA MOITRA v. NISHIKANT DUBEY & ORS.
