No CBI probe against Mahua Moitra's cash-for-query case, rules HC; Stays Lokpal's order

The Delhi High Court on Friday provided a major legal victory to Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra by setting aside a Lokpal order that had sanctioned a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chargesheet against her in the alleged cash-for-query case. The division bench, comprising Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, ruled that the anti-corruption ombudsman had erred in its procedure while passing the November 12 order. Moitra had challenged the sanction, arguing that it violated the principles of natural justice and the specific provisions of the Lokpal Act.

During the proceedings, Moitra’s counsel argued that the Lokpal had invited her written submissions and oral arguments but then dismissed them as "premature" without independent evaluation. The court noted that Section 20(7) of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act requires the ombudsman to obtain and consider the comments of a public servant before granting a sanction for prosecution. By essentially "rubber-stamping" the CBI's investigation report without considering Moitra’s defense, the Lokpal was found to have acted in contrast to the statutory framework.

The Central Bureau of Investigation, represented by Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, had opposed the plea, labeling it as "frivolous." The agency contended that Moitra was not entitled to an oral hearing and that the Lokpal had already gone beyond the law's requirements by granting her one.