SC delays hearing on MP Mahua Moitra's expulsion appeal till January 3

TMC leader Mahua Moitra, who represented the Krishnanagar Lok Sabha seat in West Bengal, faced an adjournment in the SC on Friday regarding her plea against expulsion from the Lok Sabha. The court deferred the case until January 3, extending the legal battle initiated after her expulsion on December 8 over allegations of involvement in the cash-for-query scandal.

Moitra, accused of "direct involvement" in "unethical" conduct, defended herself by alleging "substantial illegality" and "arbitrariness" by the Lok Sabha ethics committee, which recommended her expulsion. The case was heard by a bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna on the last working day before the Supreme Court's winter break.

The expulsion occurred with a voice vote in the Lok Sabha, following an ethics committee report that accused Moitra of sharing her login details, accepting gifts, and possibly cash from businessman Darshan Hiranandani.

Moitra challenged the disqualification, emphasizing that she was not allowed to defend herself during the Lok Sabha discussion on the ethics panel's findings. The controversy unfolded after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey's complaint, based on Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehradun's allegations that Moitra accepted money and favors to ask questions in Parliament.

Darshan Hiranandani, in an affidavit to the ethics committee, claimed that Moitra provided him with her login ID and password for the Lok Sabha members' website, leading to the CBI filing a preliminary FIR in the case.