Mahua Moitra expulsion: Supreme Court adjourns Trinamool leader’s Lok Sabha expulsion hearing to January 3

The Supreme Court on Friday rescheduled the hearing on the Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra’s challenge to her expulsion from Lok Sabha in the cash-for-query row. Justice Sanjay Khanna, who was leading the bench, said that he did not get a chance to go through the expelled TMC leader’s file.

The hearing has been adjourned to January 3.

“I have not had time to read the file. Hearing on January 3,” Justice Khanna said before postponing the hearing.

The Supreme Court bench was led by Justice Khanna and comprised Justices SVN Bhatti.

The adjournment means Moitra will be unable to attend the remaining Winter Session of Parliament, which concludes on December 22.

The TMC leader was expelled on December 8 based on a report put forth by the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee in the cash-for-querry allegations levelled against her. She has been sharing her Parliament login credentials with businessman Darshan Hiranandani and also taking bribes from him to ask questions in the House.

Following her expulsion, Moitra called the ethics panel’s “kangaroo court” and accused it of “breaking every rule”. The cash-for-query allegations first surfaced after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey wrote a letter on the same to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, basing it on Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai’s claims. Dehadrai is the estranged partner of Moitra.

The Trinamool leader’s expulsion came after weeks of probe and examining of documents involved in the cash-for-query controversy.