Mahua Moitra moves Delhi High Court over alleged defamatory posts by BJP MP, advocate Jai Dehadra

Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra Pic/PTI

Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra on Thursday appealed to the Delhi High Court against the alleged defamatory social media posts put up by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai targeting her.

According to PTI, the suit was filed in 2023 over false and defamatory allegations claiming that she demanded bribes in exchange for asking questions in Parliament. Dubey accused Moitra of taking bribes from a businessman for raising questions in Parliament.

Citing a letter he received from advocate Dehadrai, Dubey said the latter had shared with him "irrefutable" evidence of bribes allegedly paid to the TMC leader by the businessman.

However, in an interim application, Moitra urged the court to direct Dubey and Dehadrai to take down the posts.

Justice Manmeet PS Arora asked Dubey's counsel to take instructions on whether the BJP MP was willing to deactivate the post for now. Dubey's counsel stated that the post was based on a Lokpal judgment on his complaint against Moitra.

For the time being, the court said that Dubey's reliance on the judgment did not support his allegations against Moitra. The court stated, "This document does not support your allegations (against Moitra). Until then, please deactivate this [post]."

Moitra claimed she was aggrieved by Dubey's Facebook post and a tweet by Dehadrai on X, which reproduced Dubey's post.

The content was related to a CBI case with the Lokpal of India involving Moitra.

However, Dubey's counsel argued that Moitra was continuously referring to Dubey with an objectionable name on social media, which was not permissible, reported PTI.

The judge noted that those aggrieved by such abuse could write to the concerned social media intermediary to take down the contentious post or move the court for relief.

Moitra has filed a fresh plea in her pending defamation suit against Dubey and Dehadrai.

Following the accusations, the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee recommended Moitra's removal from the lower house, after which she was expelled on December 8, 2023, reported PTI.

In the suit, Moitra sought to restrain Dubey and Dehadrai from publishing or posting any false or defamatory content against her on any online or offline platform. She also sought a public apology from them.

(With inputs from PTI)