The Supreme Court will on Wednesday hear Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra’s plea against her expulsion from the Lok Sabha. The hearing was previously deferred on December 15, where the apex court decided to review Moitra’s plea challenging her removal from the parliamentary body. The case will be heard by a bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta.
Mahua Moitra, the elected representative from the Krishnanagar Lok Sabha constituency in West Bengal, has challenged her expulsion following the Lok Sabha’s endorsement of the ethics committee’s report. The report found Moitra guilty of accepting gifts and illegal gratification from businessman Darshan Hiranandani in connection to the cash-for-query case.
On December 15, the bench told senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Moitra, that he had not gone through the case files. The bench expressed its intent to delve into the matter upon the reopening of the court post the winter break.
On December 8, amidst a heated debate in the Lok Sabha over the ethics committee’s findings, Moitra was denied to speak. Parliamentary affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi subsequently moved a motion to expel the TMC MP from the House on grounds of “unethical conduct.” The motion was adopted by a voice vote.