The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed an interim plea by Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra seeking to restrain BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai from posting any "fake and defamatory" content against her.
Mahua Moitra was expelled as a Lok Sabha MP in December last year after Nishikant Dubey alleged that she asked questions in Parliament in exchange for cash and gifts from businessman Darshan Hiranandani.
The BJP MP had cited advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai's letter which mentioned "irrefutable evidence" of the alleged exchange between Moitra and Hiranandani.
The plea which the Delhi High Court dismissed on Monday was filed by Mahua Moitra in October 2023 against Dubey, Dehadrai, social media platform X, search engine Google, YouTube and 15 media houses. She sought the court's direction to restrain them from publishing and circulating "false and derogatory" statements against her.
The TMC leader later removed the media houses and social media intermediaries from the suit and maintained her case only against Dubey and Dehadrai.
During the course of the hearing, Dubey and Dehadrai's lawyers argued that Mahua Moitra received gifts from Darshan Hiranandani to ask questions that favoured his business interests.
Mahua Moitra’s counsel, however, said that the entire suggestion that her login credentials were given in exchange for a favour was defamatory.
He told the court that Moitra received some gifts from Hiranandani as they are friends and the gifts were not in reciprocation for asking questions in Parliament.
Published By:
chingkheinganbi mayengbam
Published On:
Mar 4, 2024
English (US) ·