Delhi HC adjourns TMC MP Mahua Moitra's defamation plea against Nishikant Dubey for October 31

Delhi High Court. File Pic

As the legal tussle between TMC MP Mahua Moitra and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey reached the Delhi High Court on Friday, the latter's lawyer's submitted that Moitra had recieved gifts for asking questions on Parliament.

"Yesterday in the press, a businessman has circulated an affidavit that he had given expensive gifts to the petitioner," Advocate Abhimanyu Bhanfari, appearing for Nishikant Dubey, submitted before Justice Sachin Datta.

Senior Advocate Gopal Sankarnaryan while pushing for an ad interim injunction told the court, "She's a public figure with standing in the society...unfortunately she was a friend with Dehradari."

While Senior Advocate Sankarnaryan appearing for Mahua Moitra, was putting forth his submisisons, Advocate Jai Anant Dehradari, against whom also injunction was sought, objected to him appearing in the case.

Dehedrai appeared in person and told court that Sankaranarayanan contacted him last night and asked him to withdraw his CBI complaint in exchange for the dog.

Following these submisisons, Sankarnaryan withdrew from the case and, hence, the matter was adjourned for October 31.

Speaking to the media outside the court complex Gopal Sankarnaryan said "I have absolutely no comments except to say, because Jai (Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai) instructed me in a case, I had reached out to him yesterday and had asked him is there any way of exploring a settlement. Jai had said that he will get back to me, but he didn't. Today when I appeared, Jai personally said to me he had an objection to me appearing. I immediately withdrew and said that I don't want to do this case."

The Delhi High Court on Friday was scheduled to hear TMC MP Mahua Moitra's application seeking directions to restrain BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, an advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai and several social media platforms and media houses from posting, circulating or publishing any fake and defamatory content against her.

The High Court on last date had issued notices to the defendants on Moitra's suit. Moitra is at the centre of a political storm after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey complained to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that she had allegedly taken bribes from a business house to ask questions in Parliament.

Meanwhile the Ethics Committee of Parliament has summoned both Nishikant Dubey and Advocate Dehadrai to give oral evidence on the complaint filed in the alleged 'Cash for Query' scandal by the BJP MP.

Earlier Nishikant Dubey in his letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker, titled "Reemergence of nasty 'Cash for Query' in Parliament" had alleged "'Serious Breach of Privilege', 'Contempt of the House' and a 'Criminal Offence' underSection 120A of IPC" by the Trinamool Congress MP.

Dubey claimed that Advocate, Jai Anant Dehadrai had provided him with proof of alleged bribe. In her response to this letter the TMC MP had said that she would welcome a probe by the speaker after he dealt with alleged breach of privilege by other BJP MPs.

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