Recently, Mahua Moitra, a leader of the Trinamool Congress Party (TMC), faced expulsion from the Lok Sabha in a ‘cash-for-query’ case. She took her plea against this decision to the Supreme Court.
A senior advocate, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Moitra, brought up the case before a bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul. However, Justice Kaul suggested mentioning the plea before the Chief Justice of India for a decision, stating it’s not something he can decide at this stage. Justice Kaul is set to retire on December 25.
Moitra challenged her expulsion, arguing that the Ethics Committee, responsible for the decision, violated numerous rules during its proceedings. She claimed to be found guilty of breaching a non-existent code of ethics.
Moitra also raised concerns about the findings being solely based on written testimonies of two private citizens, whose statements contradicted each other. She asserted that she was denied the right to cross-examine them. Notably, one of these citizens is her estranged partner, who posed as a regular citizen with malicious intent.
The Ethics Committee’s report on the ‘Unethical Conduct’ of Moitra proposed her expulsion from the Lok Sabha. It urged for an intense, legal, institutional inquiry by the central government in a time-bound manner. The report was adopted with a 6:4 majority in the panel last month.
The report shed light on Moitra’s four visits to the UAE from 2019 to 2023, indicating potential irregularities in her activities. It also mentioned multiple accesses to her login during this period.
In summary, Moitra contests her expulsion, claiming procedural violations and questioning the credibility of the evidence used against her. The Supreme Court is expected to address this matter soon.
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