The Delhi High Court refused to entertain a plea by Trinamool leader Mahua Moitra to restrain BJP leader Nishikant Dubey and lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai from posting allegedly defamatory content against her on social media.
Justice Sachin Datta on Monday denied interim relief to Mahua Moitra in the defamation suit lodged by her against Dubey and Dehadrai, in connection with the cash for query allegations.
The Delhi High Court had reserved judgment in Moitra’s application seeking ad-interim injunction on December 20 last year.
Trinamool leader Mahua Moitra was expelled as a Lok Sabha MP on December 08 last year, following the Ethics panel’s determination of her guilt in the matter. She has been accused of receiving cash in exchange for posing questions on behalf of businessman and friend Darshan Hiranandani.
Reportedly, she had accepted the fact that she had provided her Parliament login and password details to Hiranandani, however, she had denied the claim of receiving any cash from him.
Meanwhile, Moitra had sought an ex-parte ad-interim injunction against Dubey and Dehadrai and removal of the allegedly defamatory content posted against her on social media, including photos, videos, letters and publications.
The controversy broke out after BJP MP Dubey wrote a complaint to the Lok Sabha Speaker alleging that Mahua Moitra purportedly took bribes to ask questions in the Parliament. Nishikant Dubey claimed that the genesis of the said allegations was a letter addressed to him by Dehadrai.
Trinamool leader Moitra then sent a legal notice to Dubey, Dehadrai and media houses wherein she denied the allegations made against her. The legal notice said that Nishikant Dubey, for obtaining immediate political mileage, regurgitated the false and defamatory allegations in the letter written to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. It added that Mahua Moitra has never accepted any remuneration or cash or gift or benefit of any kind in relation to the discharge of her duties as a MP, including but not limited to, the questions raised by her in the Parliament.