Delhi High Court adjourns Mahua Moitra plea challenging eviction order to avoid clash with Supreme Court findings

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to pass any order on the plea by Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra challenging the Government of India order to evict her from her government-allotted bungalow in the wake of her recent expulsion from the Lok Sabha..Moitra has been asked by the government to vacate her house by January 7, 2024..Justice Subramonium Prasad noted that Moitra has challenged her expulsion from Lok Sabha before the Supreme Court by way of a separate plea and hence, any order passed by the High Court could amount to impinging on the proceedings before the Supreme Court."You have challenged the order by filing a writ petition. One of the prayers can be stay of the order. If the Supreme Court grants a stay in your favour, your suspension will be stayed. If we adjudicate on this, it will be directly impinging on the SC proceedings," Justice Prasad remarked..The High Court, therefore, kept the matter for hearing on January 4 after noting that the top court is slated to hear Moitra's plea against her expulsion from the Lok Sabha on January 3. "We will have it on January 4 after the Supreme Court opens and deals with your case. The matter is listed on January 3 (before Supreme Court)," the Court remarked.Justice Prasad also refused to pass any interim order..On December 8, the Lok Sabha passed a resolution to expel Moitra from the parliament in the wake of a recommendation by an Ethics Committee for her disqualification as an MP.The Ethics Committee's recommendation and report followed a complaint by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey who alleged that Moitra had accepted cash in exchange for asking certain questions in parliament.Moitra has been accused of posing several queries in parliament concerning the Adani group of companies at the behest of a rival businessman, Darshan Hiranandani. Moitra was also alleged to have shared her Lok Sabha log-in credentials with Hiranandani..In her plea before the High Court, Moitra highlighted that the legality of her expulsion as a Member of Parliament (MP) is presently pending adjudication before the Supreme Court of India.Hence, she moved the Court challenging the validity of a December 11 order issued by the Directorate of Estates of the Government of India to cancel her government accommodation and seeking her eviction from the official residence with effect from January 7, 2024.Moitra has urged the Court to quash the December 11 order. In the alternative, Moitra urged the Court to issue directions that would allow her to continue to reside at her current residence till the results of the 2024 general elections are declared."In the event that the petitioner is so allowed, she will readily undertake to pay any charges that may be applicable for the extended period of stay," Moitra submitted..She argued that her eviction from government accommodation would affect her ability to carry out activities she would be required to do in the run-up to the next general elections. .The petition was filed through advocates Hrishika Jain, Natasha Maheshwari, and Aman Naqvi.