Mahua to drop Media House, Social Media intermediaries as parties from defamation suit

NEW DELHI: The Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra Lawyer on Tuesday informed the Delhi High Court that they are not pressing for any relief in the suit against media houses and social media intermediaries.

Noting this, the bench of Justice Sachin Datta asked Moitra's counsel Samudra Sarangi to file an amended memo of parties while re-notifying the matter for December 5, 2023.

Advocate Sidhant Kumar appeared for a media house and submitted that since the plaintiff is not pressing for relief against the media houses, she must amend the suit accordingly as there are some averments against the media houses.

Earlier on October 20, 2023, the Delhi High Court adjourned TMC MP Mahua Moitra's defamation plea against Nishikant Dubey for October 31.

On the last date, Nishikant Dubey's lawyer Abhimanyu Bhandari submitted that a businessman had circulated an affidavit that he had given expensive gifts to the petitioner.

Senior Advocate Gopal Sankarnaryan while pushing for an ad interim injunction told the court, "She's a public figure with standing in the society...unfortunately she was a friend with Dehradari."

While Senior Advocate Sankarnaryan appearing for Mahua Moitra, was putting forth his submisisons, Adv Jai Anant Dehradari, against whom also injunction was sought, objected to him appearing in the case.

Dehedrai appeared in person and told the court that Sankaranarayanan contacted him the night before and asked him to withdraw his CBI complaint in exchange for the dog. Following these submisisons, Sankarnaryan withdrew from the case.

Speaking to the media outside the court complex Gopal Sankarnaryan said "I have absolutely no comments except to say, because Jai (Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai) instructed me in a case, I had reached out to him yesterday and had asked him is there were any way of exploring a settlement. Jai had said that he would get back to me, but he didn't. Today when I appeared, Jai personally said to me he had an objection to my appearance. I immediately withdrew and said that I don't want to do this case."

The Delhi High Court earlier had issued notices to the defendants on Moitra's suit. Moitra is at the centre of a political storm after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey complained to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that she had allegedly taken bribes from a business house to ask questions in Parliament.

Earlier Nishikant Dubey in his letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker, titled "Reemergence of nasty 'Cash for Query' in Parliament" had alleged "'serious Breach of Privilege', 'Contempt of the House' and a 'Criminal Offence' under Section 120A of IPC" by the Trinamool Congress MP.

Dubey claimed that an Advocate, Jai Anant Dehadrai had provided him with proof of a bribe. In her response to this letter, the TMC MP had said that she would welcome a probe by the speaker after he dealt with alleged breach of privilege by other BJP MPs.