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Synopsis

A division bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta of the Supreme Court today directed the Lok Sabha Secretariat to file its response in two weeks to the plea filed by All India Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra challenging her Lok Sabha expulsion.

"Let reply be filed by Lok Sabha Secretariat within 2 weeks..rejoinder in three weeks thereafter. List on week commencing March 11", Court has ordered.

SG Tushar Mehta requested the bench not to issue notice while submitting that he was present before court to respond in the petition.

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.

On October 27, both Nishikant Dubey and Jai Anant Dehadrai appeared before the panel to provide their statements and testimonies.

Notably, Moitra has also filed a defamation suit before the Delhi High Court seeking directions to restrain BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai, and several social media platforms and media houses from posting, circulating, or publishing any fake and defamatory content against her. Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan withdrew to appear for Moitra after Dehadrai informed the court that he was contacted by him to withdraw the complaint against the TMC MP.

In her plea, Moitra has sought an order directing BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and Jai Anant Dehadrai to publish a retraction and an apology to the plaintiff in three English newspapers, three Hindi newspapers, and three Bengali newspapers for the false and defamatory statements and allegations” made by them against her.

Case Title: Mahua Moitra vs. Lok Sabha, Secretariat