Jai Anant Dehadrai tells Delhi High Court he won't comment on Pinaki Misra conspiring against PM Modi

Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai on Wednesday assured the Delhi High Court that he would not make any statements accusing Biju Janata Dal (BJD) Member of Parliament Pinaki Mishra of being in a conspiracy against Prime Minister Narendra Modi..Dehadrai gave the undertaking after Justice Jasmeet Singh said that since the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was already looking into the complaint made by Dehadrai, he should not make such statements in public. "Mr [Raghav] Awasthi for and on behalf of D1 [Dehadrai] assures the Court that no allegation of plaintiff [Misra] being involved in criminal conspiracy against the PM will be made in view of the complaint pending before the CBI," the Court recorded in the order.Dehadrai's assurance will remain in force till the next date of hearing..Justice Singh orally clarified that he is not passing any gag order against the media. .The Court earlier remarked that an allegation that someone was conspiring against the Prime Minister cannot be made irresponsibly and needs to be based on cogent and substantial reasons."Conspiracy to target the PM is an offence under IPC. It is treason," the Court observed during the hearing before lunch break.It also questioned Dehadrai why he was making the allegations and said he cannot be "trigger happy" about such serious issues.Just as the Court was about to issue an injunction against him, Dehadrai sought time to place on record his complaint to the CBI to show Misra's alleged involvement. .When the hearing resumed after lunch, Dehadrai handed over in sealed cover the statement made by him to the CBI. "Questions were put to me by the media about the role of Pinaki Misra and that's where I have mentioned Mr Misra," Dehadrai's counsel Raghav Awasthi submitted, adding that CBI has been asked by the Lokpal to probe all aspects of the case.At this stage, the Court said Dehadrai should wait for the investigation to be completed and ought not make these statements until then."Then you wait. Please understand it has serious repercussion on the general public that there is a conspiracy against the highest office of the country," Justice Singh remarked..When the Court expressed its inclination to injunct him from making any statements in regard to the alleged conspiracy against the Prime Minister, Dehadrai told the Court that he would himself undertake to do so."It is a gentleman's word then that I won't say anything. My lord may not record it," he submitted.However, the Court said it would record the statement."Court reposes great faith in the members of the bar, but the Supreme Court has said on this issue that there should not be anything like understanding between counsel etc. I will record it that you will not say anything on the conspiracy," Justice Singh said..Dehadrai has been accusing Misra of being in a conspiracy to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The BJD MP this week moved the High Court with a defamation suit against Dehadrai and sought an injunction against him.The case has its origins in Misra's relations with Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra, who was earlier in a relationship with Dehadrai.Misra today denied the allegations and argued that his party was rather aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the PM..In his suit, the MP from Odisha's Puri constituency has said that he shares a close friendship with Dehadrai’s former partner Moitra and became acquainted with Dehadrai through common friends, social circles and has had limited interactions with him.The suit alleges that after Dehadrai and Moitra separated, the former made various allegations of bribery and corruption against Moitra and also referred to Misra as the “MP from Orissa”, who was allegedly a “close associate of Smt Mahua Moitra”.“Thereafter, in November 2023, Defendant No. 1 (Dehadrai) continued making a barrage of allegations not only against Ms Moitra, but persons with whom she shared a personal relationship, including the Plaintiff,” the suit states. Misra has also told the Court that in November 2023, Dehadrai started publishing a series of tweets on X (Twitter) in which pseudonyms like “Canning Lane” and “Oriya/Odia Babu” were used against him and and it was alleged that he (Misra) was involved in criminal conspiracies.A complaint made by Dehadrai to the CBI also alleged that an amount of ₹2 crore was kept with Misra to make purchases on behalf of Moitra. These purchases included high value items such as furniture, the suit states.In this regard, Misra has said that the furniture was bought by him for his own use prior to the time (May 2021) when the cash was allegedly given to him by Moitra..Advocate Samudra Sarangi represented Misra.Advocate Raghav Awasthi represented Dehadrai.Advocate Advocate Siddhanth Kumar represented Asian News International (ANI).