SIR Row: Court Bars Mahua Moitra From Posting Defamatory Remarks Against Former WB CEO Manoj Agarwal

A civil court in Alipore, West Bengal, has reportedly restrained Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra from reposting allegedly defamatory remarks against Manoj Kumar Agarwal over West Bengal Special Intensive Revision (SIR), according to a copy of the order shared by BJP MP Dr Nishikant Dubey on X. Agarwal served as the state's chief electoral officer during the exercise and is now the chief secretary.

The order also directs Moitra to delete two disputed posts within 24 hours of receiving it. The order could not be independently verified.

According to the copy shared by Dubey, the Civil Judge (Senior Division), First Court, Alipore, South 24 Parganas, granted an ex parte ad-interim injunction in Agarwal's favour. The injunction is stated to remain in force until January 5, 2027, when the court is scheduled to hear the application for temporary injunction, along with the service return and Moitra's written objections.

As per the order copy, court has restrained Moitra, her agents, servants and persons acting on her behalf from publishing, posting, reposting, sharing or repeating the allegedly defamatory statements identified in the order, in any form or on any platform.

These include statements describing Agarwal as a "Vote Chor", alleging that he "committed every illegality", holding him "singularly responsible" for illegally disenfranchising voters, or claiming that he acted at the behest of a "maalik".

The injunction specifically covers statements connected with two X posts dated October 3 and October 6, 2026. The copy states that the restraint would not prevent fair criticism of the SIR exercise or any official decision.

Dispute over West Bengal SIR

The dispute arises from Moitra's social media posts criticising Agarwal's role in the SIR exercise in West Bengal.

In an earlier post, Moitra had described Agarwal and former special observer Subrata Gupta as key architects of the SIR exercise and accused them of widespread illegality. In a subsequent post, she called Agarwal a "vote chor" and accused him of being responsible for depriving eligible Bengali voters of their voting rights.

Agarwal subsequently issued a legal notice to the TMC MP, seeking deletion of the disputed posts, an unconditional apology and an undertaking against making similar statements in the future. The notice also sought Rs 10 crore in damages for alleged defamation and Rs 50,000 towards legal and incidental expenses, according to media reports.

Agarwal denied the allegations, maintaining that he had discharged his official responsibilities in accordance with the law and directions issued by the Election Commission of India.

The order copy states that court's observations are based on a prima facie assessment for the purposes of the injunction application and will not bind the court at the subsequent hearing or trial.

The matter is stated to be listed on January 5, 2027, for service return, Moitra's written objections and a hearing on the application for temporary injunction.