Lokpal Seeks More Time to Decide on Filing Charge Sheet Against Mahua Moitra
The anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal has approached the Delhi High Court seeking a two-month extension to reconsider granting the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) sanction to file a charge sheet against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra. She faces allegations of accepting money and favours in exchange for asking questions in Parliament.
Moitra was expelled from the Lok Sabha in December 2023 on the recommendation of the ethics panel, accused of giving her official ID to Dubai-based businessman Darshan Hiranandani to post questions on the parliamentary portal. She allegedly received expensive gifts and funding for trips abroad in return. Hiranandani has corroborated these claims, while Moitra, re-elected in 2024, denies them.
The Lokpal cited the winter holidays as a reason for needing more time, following the high court’s December 19 order that set aside its November 12 decision granting sanction for the charge sheet. The court had criticized the earlier procedure as “statutory ingenuity” and directed the Lokpal to reconsider the matter afresh under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, within one month.
A bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Renu Bhatnagar on Monday said the extension request effectively amounts to modifying the December 19 order and directed that the matter be listed before the original bench led by Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar on January 23.
The case traces back to October 2023, when BJP MP Nishikant Dubey flagged the “cash-for-query” allegations against Moitra, following a complaint by lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai. In March 2023, Lokpal had directed the CBI to investigate, citing “sufficient prima facie evidence” and instructing the agency to complete the probe within six months. The CBI subsequently submitted its report to the Lokpal.
