NEW DELHI, Mar 4: The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed an interim plea by TMC leader Mahua Moitra, who was expelled from the Lok Sabha recently, for restraining BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai from posting or circulating any “fake and defamatory” content against her.
Justice Sachin Datta said Moitra has failed to make out a case for grant of any interim injunction against the defendants.
“Prima facie, it cannot be said that the allegations contained in the communications dated October 14, 2023 addressed by the defendant no. 2 (Dehadrai) and in the communication dated October 15, 2023 addressed by the defendant no. 1 (Dubey), are wholly false and unsubstantiated, and/or made with reckless disregard towards the truth,” the court said in its 23-page interim order.
The high court had on December 20, 2023 reserved its order on the interim application after hearing the counsel for Moitra, Dubey and Dehadrai.
The expelled Lok Sabha member from Krishnanagar in West Bengal, in her plea filed in October last year, sought permanent injunction against Dubey, Dehadrai, social media platforms X, search engine Google, YouTube and 15 media houses from making, publishing, circulating per se defamatory, ex facie false and malicious statements against her. She has also sought damages.
She later deleted all media houses and social media intermediaries from the memo of parties and maintained her case only against Dubey and Dehadrai.
Dubey had accused Moitra of taking bribes from businessman and Hiranandani Group CEO Darshan Hiranandani for asking questions in Parliament.
Citing a letter he received from advocate Dehadrai, Dubey said the latter shared with him “irrefutable” evidence of bribes allegedly having been paid to the TMC leader by the businessman.
In his letter to the Lok Sabha speaker, Dubey claimed 50 of the 61 questions she asked in the Lok Sabha till recently were focused on the Adani Group, the business conglomerate which the ex-TMC MP has often accused of malpractices, more so after it was at the receiving end of a critical report by short seller Hindenburg Research.
Based on these allegations, the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee had suggested Moitra’s removal from the lower house following which she was expelled on December 8, 2023.
The high court, in its order, said it is undoubtedly true that courts must come down heavily on defamatory statements made with reckless disregard for truth involving a public figure.
However, it said, in this case, the matter acquires a completely different complexion on account of several aspects.
“The omission on the part of the plaintiff (Moitra) to disclose in the plaint her dealings with Shri Darshan Hiranandani and/ or the background and rationale of sharing of her login credentials.
“The plaintiff’s own public statements/ admissions, as brought out by the defendants, regarding sharing of her login credentials with Shri Darshan Hiranandani and receipt of several gifts from him. The report of the Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha,” it said
The court referred to Hiranandani’s affidavit which has been placed on record in these proceedings and which has also been copiously referred to in the report of the Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha. (PTI)
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