Delhi High Court To Hear On Nov 21 Mahua Moitra’s Challenge To Lokpal Order In Cash-For-Query Case

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said it will take up on November 21 Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra’s petition challenging the Lokpal’s decision to permit the CBI to file a chargesheet against her in the cash-for-query case.

A Bench of Justices Anil Khetarpal and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar posted the case for Friday after receiving the Lokpal’s order in a sealed cover, noting that it would first examine the material before proceeding further.

Moitra has asked the court to quash the Lokpal’s November 12 sanction, arguing that the decision is legally flawed, contrary to the Lokpal Act, and violative of basic principles of natural justice.

Her plea before the High Court contends that while the Lokpal sought her submissions, it disregarded them entirely and proceeded to accord sanction on the reasoning that her defence was “premature” and would be considered later. This, she said, reduced the exercise to a mere endorsement of the investigation report, without any meaningful evaluation of her response.

The MP maintains that the Lokpal is duty-bound under Section 20(7)(a) of the Act to fairly weigh the public servant’s defence at this stage, including the option of directing a closure report, before deciding whether a chargesheet is warranted.

According to her, the sanction order foreclosed the possibility of a closure report by ignoring her arguments and instead green-lighting prosecution to her prejudice.

Moitra has also sought an interim stay on the sanction and asked that the CBI be restrained from acting on it, including filing any chargesheet, until the court decides her challenge.

In July, the CBI submitted its report after the Lokpal directed it to investigate allegations made by BJP Lok Sabha MP Nishikant Dubey against Mahua Moitra, who at the time was serving as the MP for Krishnanagar, for alleged corrupt practices.

In what is referred to as the cash-for-query row, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey accused Mahua Moitra of asking questions in the Lok Sabha to target the Adani Group at the behest of businessman Darshan Hiranandani, in exchange for gifts.

The Ethics Committee, in a 500-page report, deemed her actions unethical, and she was thereafter expelled from the Lok Sabha for breaching parliamentary privilege and accepting “illegal gratification.”

Case Title: Mahua Moitra vs Lokpal of India

Bench: Justices Anil Khetarpal and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar

Hearing Date: 18 November 2025

With Inputs: PTI