The Supreme Court issued a notice directing the Lok Sabha General Secretary on Wednesday to submit a response to Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra’s appeal challenging her removal from the Lok Sabha concerning the cash-for-query case.
The next hearing is set for the week starting March 11. The bench has given two weeks to the Secretariat to respond and Moitra was given three weeks to reply to the affidavit.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi urged the apex court to permit Moitra to participate in Lok Sabha proceedings as an interim measure. However, the bench declined to make an immediate decision on this request.
Singhvi stated, “Let me argue on interim relief. I may be allowed to take part in proceedings.” In response, the bench clarified that it wasn’t taking a stance on interim relief presently, stating, “No, no. We will take it up when listed.”
Also Read:Mahua Moitra’s estranged partner alleges snooping, says calls recorded with help from West Bengal police
During the hearing, Singhvi highlighted that there is no rule prohibiting the sharing of login credentials. He noted that many MPs commonly delegate their work to secretaries and assistants for uploading questions.
He argued that the sole concrete finding against Moitra in the ethics committee’s report was her unauthorised sharing of MP portal login credentials with third parties.
Also Read:‘Broke every rule in book’: Mahua Moitra blasts ethics panel after expulsion as MP
Responding to this, Justice Khanna asked Singhvi, “So you are accepting that you shared the OTP with Hiranandani?” Senior counsel replied, “As every parliamentarian does with their secretaries or people they delegate work to…”
Moitra had approached the Supreme Court to challenge her expulsion from the Lok Sabha. She was expelled from the Lok Sabha on December 8 following an Ethics Committee report that found her “guilty of unethical conduct.” The report urged the government to conduct “an intense, legal, institutional inquiry” into the cash-for-query allegations against her within a specific timeframe.
In October, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey alleged, based on a complaint by Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, that Moitra had solicited cash and gifts from businessman Darshan Hiranandani in exchange for raising questions in Parliament, which conflicted with industrialist Gautam Adani’s business interests.
Moitra’s expulsion from the Lok Sabha triggered heated debates, with Moitra being silenced in Parliament, and the Opposition walking out before the motion for her expulsion was put to vote.
