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Synopsis

The Lok Sabha Secretariat has filed its reply before the Supreme Court of India in the plea by All India Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra challenging her Lok Sabha expulsion.

Court has been told that all procedures have been duly followed in Mahua's case, and in any case, those internal procedures/actions are not amenable to the Court's jurisdiction, as having been specifically excluded by the provision of Article 122 of the Constitution which provides that the validity of proceedings in Parliament shall not be called in question on the ground of any alleged irregularity of procedure.

It has been further submitted that the fundamental rights of a Member of the House, in respect of internal proceedings conducted by the House and the member’s expulsion, is beyond the scope of judicial review, and is not maintainable.

"Article 122 envisages a framework wherein the Parliament is allowed to exercise its internal functions and powers without judicial intervention in the first instance as the Parliament is sovereign in respect of its internal proceedings. There is also an initial presumption that such powers have been regularly and reasonably exercised, not violating the law or the Constitutional provisions and courts will not lightly presume abuse or misuse thereof...", the reply states arguing that proceedings of the Parliament (and its constituents) cannot be called into question alleging any irregularity of procedure and the House of the People is the sole judge of the lawfulness of proceedings before it.

Lok Sabha has added that Committee proceedings of the Parliament, as noted by the Hon’ble Chairperson of the Committee, are proceedings in a “Court of Honour” as expressed by the first Speaker of Lok Sabha, Late Shri G.B. Mavlankar, and not a “Court of Law”, thus, technical requirements of cross examination, despite a categorical assumption of certain conduct, is not required and does not apply to these proceedings.

In January, a division bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta had directed the Lok Sabha Secretariat to file its response in two weeks to the plea filed by Mahua Moitra.

CJI DY Chandrachud had earlier said that he would expeditiously look at Mahua Moitra's plea challenging her expulsion from Lok Sabha by its Ethics Committee in relation to the ongoing cash-for-query row.

Moitra was expelled on Friday December 8, 2023 on the basis of a report of the ethics committee that recommended the expulsion of Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra in a "cash-for-query" case was introduced. 

On November 9, the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee, headed by BJP MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar, adopted a report recommending the expulsion of the Trinamool Congress leader from the Lok Sabha.

The report was adopted by a 6-4 vote. The Congress MP Praneet Kaur voted in favor of the report, while the other four opposition MPs submitted dissent notes.

Moitra, as per the report has been indicted for “unethical conduct” and “contempt of the House” for sharing her Lok Sabha log-in credentials with unauthorized personnel. The panel called this a “serious misdemeanor” and recommended “severe punishment”. “In view of highly objectionable, unethical, heinous, and criminal conduct,” the committee has recommended “intense, legal, and institutional inquiry by the Government of India (GOI) in a time-bound manner.”

Moitra had appeared before the ethics panel on November 2, after the committee had set the date for her appearance with no possibility of further extension.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has accused Moitra of accepting money and gifts from businessman Darshan Hiranandani in exchange for posing questions in Parliament. The accusations were brought to the committee's attention through an official complaint filed by Dubey with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, supported by purported 'evidence' provided by Moitra's estranged friend, Jai Anant Dehadrai.

Case Title: Mahua Moitra vs. Lok Sabha, Secretariat