Cash-for-Query Row: Big Setback for Mahua Moitra From Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed the application filed by former Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra. She sought direction to restrain BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai from making, posting, publishing, uploading, or distributing any content alleging that she accepted bribes from businessman Darshan Hiranandani to pose questions in Parliament.

The controversy traces back to October of the previous year when Nishikant Dubey accused Mahua Moitra of exchanging questions in Parliament for cash and gifts from businessman Darshan Hiranandani. The accusation was backed by a letter from advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai, claiming "irrefutable evidence" of the alleged exchange.

Hiranandani had submitted a letter to the Ethics Committee of Parliament, asserting that Moitra had shared her Parliamentary login ID and password, enabling him to post questions on her behalf. In an exclusive conversation with India Today, Moitra admitted to providing her login credentials to Hiranandani, allowing someone in his office to type in questions for Lok Sabha.

The Ethics Committee of Parliament thoroughly investigated the allegations and found Mahua Moitra guilty of accepting money in exchange for posing specific questions in Parliament. Subsequently, the committee's report recommended her expulsion from the lower house of Parliament.