Defamation suit against media outlets dropped by Mahua Moitra
In a curious turn of events, TMC’s vociferous MP Mahua Moitra on Tuesday withdraw defamation case against media houses for publishing controversies on her accepting bribes for asking questions against industrialist Gautam Adani. Her advocate informed the Delhi High Court that she wanted only to pursue the defamation case against BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and her friend-turned-foe advocate Jai Anant Dehdrai.
Counsel for Moitra, while stating that he was not pressing any interim relief in the matter at this stage, told Justice Sachin Datta that the lawsuit would only continue against two defendants — BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai. Dubey has accused and filed complaint against Mahua Moitra of taking bribes from businessman Darshan Hiranandani to ask questions in Parliament and urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to constitute an inquiry committee to look into the charges against her.
Citing a letter he received from advocate Dehadrai and his complaint to CBI, Dubey has said the lawyer shared “irrefutable” evidence of bribes allegedly being given to the TMC leader by a businessman. In his letter to the Lok Sabha speaker, Dubey claimed that 50 of the 61 questions she asked in the Lok Sabha till recently were focused on the Adani Group, the business conglomerate which the 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.
When this news was published across the media, angry short-tempered Mahua Moitra filed defamation case against 15 media houses too. The court on Tuesday permitted the TMC MP to file an amended memo of parties in view of her wish to delete all defendants except Dubey and Dehadrai, and also bring appropriate changes in the pleadings in the matter.
Lawyer Abhimanyu Bhandari, appearing for Dubey, argued that Moitra has committed perjury as after denying all allegations against her, she has subsequently accepted sharing her login credentials with a businessman. Businessman Darshan Hiranandani filed an affidavit exposing Mahua Moitra from accepting money and gifts from him and even providing him her Parliament log-in ID to raise questions on the website of the Parliament.[1]
Moitra has said lawyer Dehadrai was her close friend and the recent cessation of this friendship took an acrimonious turn and he allegedly “resorted to sending vile, threatening, vulgar messages to the plaintiff and also trespassed into plaintiff’s official residence and stole some personal possessions of the plaintiff including her pet dog Henry (the same was returned later). Against such actions, the plaintiff had filed two police complaints… and the same were later withdrawn by the plaintiff on account of settlement talks”. The court listed the case for hearing in December.
She has also provisionally valued the damages at Rs.2 crore and said the defendants be directed to pay her damages that shall be quantified at a later stage on account of the defamatory, derogatory, and baseless statements made by Dubey and Dehadrai and published by X, Google and several media houses on their respective platforms.
Reference:
[1] Darshan Hiranandani turns approver. Says have given money and gifts to Mahua. Used her Parliament Email ID to ask questions against Adani – Oct 19, 2023, PGurus.com
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If person places on record what he or she has seen / experienced while being in close relationship can it be called vulgar?? The typical lack of exit policy emerges from arrogance, and an attempt at farting against thunder.
One step forward, Two steps backward. Not a sign of mental maturity. Loud mouth or empty vessels make much noise