Moitra challenged her expulsion from the Lok Sabha by going before the top court.
Digital Desk: The plea of Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra against her removal from the Lok Sabha in a cash-for-query case was postponed by the Supreme Court on Friday till January 3, 2024. Deferring the hearing, a bench consisting of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti stated that it had not reviewed the case files.
"I didn't have time to scan the file because I received it in the morning. Is it possible for us to keep it on January 3rd or 4th? I would like to go through this," Justice Khanna told senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Moitra, and posted the matter on January 3.
Moitra challenged her expulsion from the Lok Sabha by going before the top court. On December 8, Moitra was ejected from the Lok Sabha following a debate on the Ethics Committee findings in the Lower House's "cash for query" motion.
The Ethics Committee violated all rules, according to Moitra, who was barred from speaking during the House session.
On December 8, she had promised to fight back when speaking outside of Parliament.
"I'm 49 years old, and I'm going to battle you for the next 30 years—inside the Parliament and outside, in the streets and gutters...We'll see your end...This is the beginning of your end...We're going to come back and we're going to see the end of you," Moitra had said.
The expelled member of the Lok Sabha said that she was found guilty of violating a 'does not exist' code of ethics. Moitra also claimed that her privilege to cross-examine the two private persons whose written testimony materially contradicted each other was stolen and that the results were only based on their testimonies.
"I was not permitted to cross-examine any of them. My estranged partner is one of the two private citizens who pretended to be a regular citizen in front of the committee with malicious intent. I've been hanged there by the two testimonies, which are opposed to one another," she remarked.
The Ethics Committee's investigation into the TMC MP's "unethical conduct" had suggested that Moitra "may be expelled" from the Lok Sabha and demanded that the federal government conduct a "time-bound, intense, legal, and institutional inquiry."
Last month, the panel endorsed the report with a 6:4 majority. According to the cash-for-query case report, Moitra travelled to the United Arab Emirates four times between 2019 and 2023, during which time her login was accessed many times.
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