Can’t Stop Mahua Moitra From Defending Herself In Public: Delhi High Court

The court made an oral observation in response to a plea by lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai seeking an interim injunction to prevent an expelled Lok Sabha MP from making defamatory statements against him. Mr. Dehadrai has filed a Rs 2 crore lawsuit against Ms. Moitra for allegedly making defamatory statements in the context of the cash-for-query scandal. Ms. Moitra was expelled from the Lok Sabha on December 8 following allegations by the plaintiff that she accepted bribes to ask questions in Parliament.

During the hearing, Justice Prateek Jalan stated that if the allegations were made public, Ms. Moitra had the right to defend herself, but she could not make objectively false statements. The judge urged both parties to resolve the matter privately, warning that if the matter is brought to the public domain, Ms. Moitra must have the opportunity to defend herself. Counsel for Ms. Moitra argued that her statements were not defamatory and could be justified as fair comment.

The plaintiff’s counsel, however, contended that the defendant had made factually false comments about his professional life and imputed motives to him. The court appealed to Ms. Moitra’s counsel to advise her on the matter, emphasizing that the public discourse had been brought to a low level by both parties. Justice Jalan urged the defendant to refrain from making objectively untrue statements and urged her to use her good sense in the matter.

The court also questioned the plaintiff’s lawyer about statements he had given to the media after the last hearing. The plea contended that Ms. Moitra’s statements had damaged the plaintiff’s reputation and esteem. The court had issued summons in the lawsuit and scheduled further hearings for April 25.

*(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed. )*